Not Your Normal 9 to 5
by Lennex
Summary: While tracking a thief who stole a new material from Capsule Corp., an accident occurs and Lennex finds himself trapped...in Feudal Japan? Complete revision in prog.
1. Prologue: The Chase

_**A little update. ** For all those who have been reading my story so far I apologize. When I write I block everything else out from my mind and just go with my creative flow. I use my word programs spell check and grammar check features but as you all know those are limited. I tend to make some rather large errors. My beta helps me out a lot with that. He gives me ideas on how to reword things that don't work and to make sure my continuity is dead on. However in looking for these large mistakes, we have both let little ones past our attention. I didn't realize the mistakes were there until a re read of what I wrote before to get my creative juices going for the later chapters. So I have been re editing. Slow work because I'm reading everything very slowly and multiple times. Once again I apologize, if you have read this in the past and got through it I thank you a lot. For you new people, be glad I caught the error lol. Here's hoping to a smoother read enjoy._

**Chapter 1: The Chase**

They called him Eddie the eel, which was funny because his real name was Eugene, but only his mother and a few close friends knew that. It was safer to have an alias anyways so he let the name stick. After all he was a thief. One of the best thieves the world had ever seen. He'd never been caught and anything he stole either made it to the person who hired him, or was destroyed in the event of being caught. No evidence, no crime. He even designed special c4 micro charges just for that occasion. Any time he felt like his back was to the wall, just slap a charge on the merchandise and case closed. Of course he had to take payment after delivery. Most people didn't like to pay for bits and pieces, but that just gave him incentive to get better. There wasn't a security system designed that he couldn't find a way around, no lock he couldn't pick, not a safe in the world that was actually safe from him.

He smiled to himself as he clipped the wire leading to a fuse box. This particular wire controlled the pressure sensors under the floor of the hallway and the room at the end. He was on a job now, nothing like a little early morning adventure. It was just after 1 am and the place was dead as could be. He thought more about the job he was on. This one was destined to retire him at an early age. He was hired buy a 3rd party. The only thing he knew was this party was employed by one of the biggest energy developers and providers in the United States. He probably could have figured out who he was working for but he'd been paid half up front, something that never happened because as said before, people didn't like his contingency plan for not getting caught. But this was a special case. This company led the market on finding new ways to improve energy output and production, and also how much to charge for their services. They were not happy in learning that Japans biggest R&D Corporation had just developed a new type of energy material. One that was easily massed produced at a very low cost. The only reason Capsule Corporation had not released the material was because of a small anomaly in the gelatinous substance. The scientists had said that whatever the property was it was safe. Nothing bad could come from it, but the owner and head inventor, Bulma Briefs, said no material that had something that couldn't be properly analyzed and explained was not leaving her company.

She'd been sued once in her younger days for producing an unsafe capsule because she didn't research a potentially problem that was deemed "safe" and she wasn't going to make the mistake again. So here he was, Eddie the Eel, being his slippery self and stealing the material. . Apparently the bigwigs of the US based company didn't like the idea of someone moving in on their territory and had hired him to steal the material for their own scientists to study and produce. While Ms. Briefs had qualms about not releasing the substance, they were had no such convictions. Oh well, it wasn't his place to say what was safe and what wasn't. The large amount of money sitting at home and the other half waiting to be delivered made sure he didn't care. He walked down the hallway toward the lab room he had learned this stuff was being tested. He snorted to himself, the least they could have done was give it a name.

The one they had given was xo-l2257, not a very conversation friendly name. He reached the end of the hallway and pulled out a small flat box from under his coat. The box had on simple switch on it, which he pressed before opening the door. Before he had cut the wire he had taped into the security systems camera array and had put a small loop device into play. With the push of the button every camera would play a thirty second continuous loop of nothing. To the guards in the guard room everything would seem to be as it was. Nice and quiet, because after all, who would break into Capsule Corporation. He smirked to himself again after that thought. Who indeed? Most criminals were scared off by the electronic security system, which was cutting edge stuff, but he wasn't worried. The other half had heard rumors of the head of security in the corporation. They said when he was after you, there was no escape. He'd believe that when he saw it.

After a few seconds to give the cameras time to reset he opened the door. Inside was a normal lab setup, tables with high tech scanners and equipment spread out and workstations for smaller projects. On one of the tables sat a small class case. Inside was a 40 ounce cylinder full of what looked to be runny lime green jello that seemed to emit a soft green glow. He knew this was the stuff he was after because his information had told him the stuff sort of looked like liquid kryptonite. To bad he didn't have a superman to test it out on. He quickly pulled out a couple tools from his inside pocket and had the lock to the case opened in record time. After stowing his tools he took the back pack he wore off and pulled out a form fitted cylinder case. He opened it and set the container inside, and closed the case. He inserted the container back into the backpack and threw it over his shoulder. He turned around and headed back towards the door. He opened it and came face to face with two young men in white lab coats. "You got to be kidding me." He muttered.

Without thinking he threw a punch at the one on the left dropping the man cold, his partner however had a bit quicker reaction and instead of waiting to be taken out he rushed back down the corridor and hit the alarm switch. The eel was close behind trying to stop the call for help but wasn't able to catch the quick scientist. He would have thought a guy who worked this late at night in a lab would be this quick. Hell he didn't figure on anyone working this late. He changed course away from the second workaholic and ran as fast as he could towards his exit point, all stealth forgotten. He kept his head low, knowing that since the security had been triggered, and the cameras would now see him. His loop device would be ignored. He made it without incident to the outside of the building and found the car he was using as a getaway. He'd use if for now but would have to find another one very quickly. As he threw the backpack in the back seat and got in the car and started it up. He threw it into drive and hammered the accelerator to the floor. As he sped off he saw a uniformed guard come out the door and watch him drive off.

"Well Eugene, there's a first time for everything."

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They call him Eddie the eel He's one of the best corporate thieves in the world and his record is almost flawless." A little blond haired officer said as Lennex looked at the video on the security monitor. The man was trying to shield his face fairly well but one of the cameras was able to get a decent view of his face, a good enough one to find a suspect file. It had been three hours since the break in and Lennex was not happy to be out of his nice warm bed at 4 in the morning. His lovely girlfriend was out of town on a model shoot and he already wasn't sleeping well because of that. He missed the simple presence of Bra, that and he liked waking up to a good view

"Did you hear me sir?

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the Security officer. He shook his head at himself, Bra had only been gone a week and by the way he was acting you'd think she'd been gone years.

"Sorry Minako, it's still very early." He replied. Minako shook her head and repeated herself.

"The Eel has a special signature tactic which is why he remains free to this day. If he feels he's going to be caught he'll blow up whatever it is he's stolen and I don't have to tell you he has almost all of the xo-12257. We only have the sample that was being tested, which is only 20 milliliters. You know the boss would be upset if we let him destroy this stuff."

"That's a polite way of putting it." He replied. He knew Bulma would be pissed beyond belief. Not even a sparring match that tore her front lawn up would make her as mad as if this stuff was destroyed. She had worked on the theory of this material for a long time, ever since hearing how the future Trunks' world suffered because of all the destruction to power stations and generators due to the androids of his time. She wanted to have something the world could use that didn't require big power stations or dams or anything like that.

This liquid could produce the power of a 40,000 watt power station in a generator the size of a water melon. Her idea was to replace the larger power stations with small manageable sites, that wouldn't be targeted quite so noticeably. Most definitely saying she'd be upset if she lost all her prototype material would be a massive understatement.

"Any ideas on were he's heading?" he asked. Minako shook her head negative and pulled up a map of Japan.

"We can assume that he won't stay in Satan City, he'll mostly likely try to get out of town. Find another city to lay low. We do know that whoever wants this stuff isn't located in Japan, so he'll be looking for a way out of the country."

"Are we sure the mystery men are outside Japan?" Lennex asked

"There are only 6 other companies that know about this material, and none of them are in country. There are two in Russia, one in England, one in Germany and the last two are in the States. "

Lennex nodded his head as he listened; Minako had been one of his personnel since she started. He hired her himself and was pleased to see she was becoming very adept in her job. He studied the map of Japan for a little longer. "I am making an educated guess but if he wants out the best places to leave Japan would be Tokyo. It would be easy to get lost in the crowds and he could probably sneak something out there. Let's get a couple teams there. I want all the major airports staked out and also check the shipyards. I don't want him slipping by us by going to mainland Asia by water. I'll head there right now myself, its time this guy got caught!" He turned and walked out the door knowing Minako would put his orders to action.

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It had been a long nine hours since his getaway from Cap Corp and little did the eel know, Lennex had guessed correctly. He was indeed in Tokyo for a flight out of the city to England and from there to the U.S. The drive to Tokyo had been uneventful. He switched cars before skipping Satan City and when he got here he ditched that car also. He wasn't afraid to walk. The best hiding spot he thought was out in the open. He calmly walked towards one of Tokyo's International airports. He had pre-booked a flight to England as the first leg of his journey out of Japan. He was on his way to check in and board the plane. The container in the backpack was designed to fool the scanners in the airports so check in wasn't going to be a problem. All he had to do was arrive, hand the counter person his ticket and board his flight. Sorry to say this job just didn't seem to be going right.

He noticed the tall, dark haired man scanning the crowd. He knew who he was. He always made sure to study a security system, and that included the men and women of the security force. This was the head of Security at Capsule Corp. They simply called him Lennex. No last name no title, just Lennex. He turned around calmly and started walking the other way. It looked like he'd have to lay low a few more days until the heat died down. He walked by a candy store and stopped to look into the window display. It was a tacky move but sometimes the old tricks were the best. While he pretended to look at the selection of sweets he was actually looking back at were he came from. He saw what he didn't want to see. Security boy had spotted him and was walking his way. Once again it was time to lose stealth in favor of speed. He quickly turned and walked a little faster down the street and turned a corner. As soon as he was out of view he took off in a sprint.

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Lennex had been staring at faces all morning. Tourist and business men and families leaving Japan all walked past him while he stood trying to take everything in. That's when he saw him. It was Eddie all right. He committed the face from the video to memory and knew he had his man. But from the looks of things he himself had been spotted by his prey, because Eddie was now walking the other way. Lennex moved to follow and radioed the teams he had with him. The back up would be nice in cornering him but they were across the city and other airports and the shipyards.

He'd have to catch him himself, which if there weren't so many eyes around it wouldn't be a problem. He was Sayjin after all. He could move faster the almost everyone on Earth. Unfortunately unless he wanted a media circus trying to figure out how he could do the stuff he could, low profile was essential. That's the way he and his friends all operated. If the world only knew the threats that came to Earth that had to be dealt with. Oh well no sense in trying to change what couldn't be changed. He saw the Eel look in to a shop on the street and then continue his walk down the street, a little quicker then before.

No doubt about it, the Eel was good. Lennex picked up the pace and rounded the corner. He just caught his prey two blocks down and rounding another corner. Regrettably the street was extremely crowded so he couldn't use his super speed. He took off at a run. He couldn't move as fast as he normally could but he could still augment his normal running pace without drawing too much attention. He ran to the street he saw Eddie turn on and looked around. It took him a moment but he found Eddie running up a large flight of stairs in the middle of the block. He ran towards the stairs and saw that Eddie was running into a Shrine.

Great;

Lennex took off up the flight of stairs.

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"Good bye Mama, I'll visit as soon as I can but you know Inuyasha." Kagome Higurashi called to her mother. She hefted the large yellow pack that carried her food supplies, first aid kit, and the occasional piece of homework. She had only been able to stay for two days in her time but knew she had to get back other wise she'd have a very unhappy half demon traveling companion. Inuyasha and the rest of her friends were so close to finding all the loose jewel shards that they were getting excited and impatient to find the rest. After the loose shards were collected they could finally concentrate on finding the shards Naraku had. Between him and her group the shards were all but accounted for. Only two were embedded in the legs of the wolf prince Koga, and one was in the back of Kohaku, Sango's younger brother. They were so close to finishing and were ready to make the final push in ending the threat of Naraku and completing the Shikon Jewel. Thankfully though the group agreed to give her two days to go home, restock on her supplies, see her family, and try to catch up on school and her friends in this time. It wasn't easy trying to live in the here and now and 500 years in the past. She wished they could either hurry up and complete the jewel, or graduate high school so she could stop leading a double life.

"Ya that will be a wish come true." She said to herself. Although it was hard going to the feudal era and coming back to the present, she would be sad when it was over. The possibility that when the jewel was completed, the well would close and she'd have to make a choice on were to stay, past or present. Well she'd cross that bridge when she came to it and for now, would live in the moment. She walked across the shrine from her house towards the old well house. If only she would have turned around she would have taken in an odd site, but she continued her forward pace and walked into the well house, shutting the door behind her.

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The Eel made it to the top of the stairs cursing all the way. He knew Lennex was gaining ground so it was time for his contingency plan. He kept moving across the grounds as he pulled off the back pack and pulled out the container. He tucked the pack under his arms as he slapped two charges on the case and headed for the back of the shrine. He watched as a girl in a white sailor shirt and green skirt exited the house and walked towards a smaller structure. Perfect. He turned to see Lennex crest the steps and start coming towards him. A plan was born.

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Lennex watched the eel move quickly towards a smaller structure that was off to the side and behind the family house of the shrine. He also observed a young girl in a high school uniform enter the small structure without a care in the world. The eel saw this too. He stopped just outside the well house and turned to face Lennex, who was still 100 yards away. He raised a cylinder container and Lennex knew what was inside. He also saw the charges located on the container. The eel smiled and opened the door to the small structure and tossed the tube inside. He then turned and ran off.

"Damn it!" Lennex said as he used his power to zip to the doorway of the building. Hopefully none of the shrine goers had seen him seemingly blur from one point to another but oh well, this girl was in trouble and his hero complex was in full swing. Vegeta always told him acting like Goku and trying to save everyone would get him in trouble.

He entered the building and discovered that it was an old well house. The well sat in the middle of the building with a few shelves along the walls. He looked around and found the mini bomb for lack of a better word at the base of the well, but no girl. He raced down the small flight of stairs to the well and picked up the bomb, no telling how much time was left before it blew. He powered up to protect himself and turned back towards the doorway, he didn't know if the girl was hiding somewhere inside or not so he meant to take the bomb outside.

That's what he was going to do anyways when the canister in his hand blew up. The force of the blast was relatively small for an explosion. It disintegrated the container and threw the liquid inside outward in all directions. Lennex didn't feel the blast at first. He was powered up enough to take a whole truck of c4 exploding on him, but when the liquid splashed on him he felt his power drop. It dropped so low so quickly that the last part of the shockwave of the explosion hit him tearing at his clothes and skin. He hadn't been hurt by something so small in a long time and that in itself was a shock The second shock was that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get his power back up and he was getting weaker and weaker in the seconds that ticked by. He stumbled a few more feet back until his legs hit the back of the well. Sadly the rest of his body didn't stop as he tipped backwards and fell into the well.

"This is going to hurt." He thought. His energy was still leaving him as he fell and just before he blacked out he thought he saw a strange blue glow, before everything turned black.

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"Its about time you got back Kagome, we'd like to start the search sometime this year!" the red clad half demon, Inuyasha groused as he helped the girl out of the well. Good old Inuyasha He could be so nice and help her climb out of the well and still yell at her like she was three years old.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha," she replied, "but I had to get a few things for this hunt. It could be quiet awhile before I get back and I wanted to spend some time with my family just in case…." She left the statement in the air. She knew ever since she started this journey with Inuyasha that it could be very dangerous, possibly lethal, which it almost had been a few times, but in the last two years she never left his side and didn't plan on it anytime soon.

"Feh, woman I keep telling you everything is going to be all right. I'll protect you. Nothing will happen to you while I'm around got that. I don't know why you keep worrying about things like……" he trailed off in mid rant. Kagome looked at him and watched him sniff a few times. He turned around and looked at the well, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, Tetsusaiga

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned, reaching for her bow.

"Oi, woman did you bring someone back with you?" he answered with his own question. Kagome blinked a couple times. No one besides her and Inuyasha had ever been able to pass through the well.

They both crept forward and looked down into the well. Inside laid a man, about mid twenties in age. He wore a simple pair of khaki pants and polo shirt covered by a dark jacket. His clothes also looked torn and he had a few cuts and bruises. Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other bewilderment in their eyes.

"I guess we better get him out and see how badly he's hurt." Kagome said, not sounding too sure of her statement. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and hopped into the well to retrieve the injured man.

This was definitely a new experience to him, and he hoped it wouldn't turn sour like usual. He picked up the man and slung him over his shoulder. By smell he could tell he was hurt pretty good and there was also two strange smells coming off the man. Well best get him back to the village, he did need a healer. He jumped out of the well and nodded to Kagome, "We need to get him to Kaede. She'll be able to fix him up." Kagome nodded and together with their unconscious new friend slung over Inuyasha's shoulders, they set of towards the village.


	2. Toto, I dont think were in Tokyo anymore

**Chapter 2: Toto, I don't think were in Tokyo anymore**

Lennex knew he was being carried, well slung across someone's shoulder to be exact, when he first regained conscious. He wanted to open his eyes, power up and roll off the shoulder and find that damn thief, but even workout sessions with Vegeta and Goku had never left him this drained. What he heard was not the sounds of a city but the quiet of countryside or possibly a reserve. He heard his transportation and someone else walking, feet crunching on dirt and twigs. He managed to get an eye open part way and the first thing he saw was red. Whoever was carrying him was garbed in all red and wasn't wearing any shoes. He glanced to his left and right and saw trees in every direction, a most interesting discovery. He probably would have looked around some more but the drained feeling caught up with him once again and he slipped back into the world of dreams.

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Inuyasha had felt his passenger awake for a brief moment but paid it no mind; he went back to sleep almost as quickly. He followed Kagome as they walked the worn path from the bone eaters well to Kaede's village. They had walked in silence since they had left the well and Inuyasha was sure that Kagome's thoughts mirrored his own. How did this person from her era get through the well? Era, that was still a strange thought to him. He knew what the well really did, and while most figured Kagome returned to her own 'world' he had known that she was returning to her own time. They let their friends run with the world theory for a while, but decided to explain the concept of the well and time travel to them so that they knew the truth. Of course neither he, nor Kagome really understood time travel, but they managed to get the point across.

Kagome turned around to look at Inuyasha to check on him and his burden. She gave him a small smile and turned around. Her thoughts did coincide with his to a point; there was no mistake he was from the future. His clothing and personal items screamed future technology, especially the watch he wore. She had only seen the very rich wear something like that. It not only told you the time, but acted as a compass, GPS guidance system and she was sure there were more functions due to the numerous buttons on the watch.

But she also worried about other things, things that Inuyasha didn't know enough about to even worry. Like the fact that someone had obviously followed her into the well house on her family's shrine. And from the condition he was in looks of it, there was another person that had helped him get into the shape he was in. Was the man they carried to the village someone her school had possibly hired to check up on her? Since first going down the well herself, her absences from school were almost chronic. It's a wonder they even still enrolled her. After all this time she was sure the school would be taking steps to see if her illnesses were actually what was keeping her out or not. She had dreams that terrified her, like someone discovering the well and what it did, locking up her family so they couldn't tell anyone about it, and capturing Inuyasha to run tests on the half demon. This time, however, when she thought about Inuyasha being captured, she had pictured a dog catcher with an extremely big net chasing after him. This particular image caused her to giggle.

"Something funny, wench?" Inuyasha asked from behind.

She shook her head and turned to Inuyasha once more. "Just thinking about something, that's all," she replied. The thought brought a small smile to her face once more but it quickly left when she pictured Inuyasha strapped to a table and a bunch of doctors standing around him with an assorted array of instruments. She didn't tell Inuyasha about these types of things in her time. She knew he wouldn't care, after all, who could take down the mighty half demon? She thought the last part in an imitation of Inuyasha's voice. But her world had so much technology that he wouldn't understand. And this man, could he be the start of her terrible nightmares?

"You know if you walked any slower, we might make it to the village before the first snow falls." Inuyasha said from behind. He smelled her fear and decided the best course of action to get her to stop thinking about whatever she was thinking about was to pick a fight with her. He was almost sure that she wouldn't sit him since he was carrying the injured. He wasn't disappointed on both counts.

"What's that supposed to mean dog boy?" she replied with as she turned to face him, a small frown on her face.

"It means, Kagome, I think all these trips to the future are making you slow and lazy. Probably because of all that junk food you eat."

She whirled around and quickened her pace a bit, hands on her hips her arms folded across her chest and her head slightly upturned. He heard her mutter under her breath, "This coming from the boy who won't let me come back to the past without a case of ramen every time. We'll see how much he likes going with out his 'ninja food' when I don't bring him any for a while."

That hurt. He had counted on some yelling and some bickering, but he didn't like the idea of her taking ramen away. He hurried his own pace to catch up and 'discuss' this development the rest of the way to the village.

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He awoke again and this time he didn't hear anything except the occasional cricket. He was flat on his back this time and he could feel a blanket on top of him. He cracked open his eyes and was greeted to a wooden ceiling, and a very crude wooden ceiling at that. It was also very dark, the only light coming from a lantern outside a window, a window that didn't support something as common as a screen. Odd. He knew it was a lantern or some other type of flame source because of the flickering. He heard a movement towards his right and slowly peered towards the source. A small boy was standing beside a wooden bucket, a ladle in one hand and a cup in the other. He was pouring himself some sort of liquid into the cup. The boy was wearing a very old looking style of clothing and had a blue ribbon in his hair and a…big bushy tail was protruding from the boy's rear. He then noticed the boy's legs and feet. While the top half was human looking, the child's feet were the legs of an animal, like a coyote or a fox or something. He then noticed the boy's ears came to points at the top. He tried to sit up but his energy was still weak. He tried powering up but his power was still nil. Drained, he closed his eyes again and quickly fell back to sleep.

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He awoke once more to the sounds of people walking around outside the structure, the sounds of dogs barking and children laughing and playing; to sounds of men and women greeting each other on their way to wherever they were heading. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the daylight shining through the window of the…hut? He looked around and saw that it was in fact a humble hut, no modern conveniences in sight. He looked over and observed an elderly woman mashing something in a bowl with a pestle. She looked up at him and he noticed the eye patch over one of her eyes. "Ah, ye are awake finally. I shall get those that found you." She stood up and walked out the door into another room.

He heard her move something and call out to a couple people. "Kagome, Inuyasha, your guest is awake," he heard from outside. A few moments later the older woman came back into the hut followed by a young woman in a high school uniform and a young man dressed in all red. He remembered awaking on someone's shoulder that wore red and assumed this to be his transport. Then he noticed the top of the boy's head. On top were two fuzzy triangular ears. He must have been staring because the boy bit out, "Got a problem with something?"

Lennex locked eyes with this strange person and noticed that the eyes were a golden color. He then quickly gave him a once over; even in his depleted state, his professional training was kicking in. The boy's clothes looked durable, but also were of an ancient style, completed with a katana at his waist. Instead of regular fingernails the boy had what looked like claws. He also felt some kind of energy emanating from him. Not like a normal human who studied the arts and raised their fighting power; it was energy totally different. He was formidable, but still no match for Lennex at full power. But that was still the problem, while not feeling as weak as he had before; he still couldn't raise his power level. He looked back at his hosts and said, "No problem, just never seen someone like you before…what are you exactly?"

"I'm a half demon. What's it to ya?" the boy shot back.

Half demon? He actually said he was a half demon. Stranger things have happened, Lennex supposed. He had heard Majin Buu was a demon but that was ages ago. He told his hosts as much. "The last demon we ever fought was imprisoned 1000 years ago. There are no such things as demons anymore in this day."

The girl coughed a bit, drawing his attention to her. She was pretty and, compared to what he had seen so far, the most normal looking out of them all.

"About that," she started looking quickly at the boy and then back at him, "I don't know how to tell you this, but you're actually 500 years in the past, in the Warring States Era."

Lennex quirked an eyebrow as he listened to the girl talk, reevaluating his opinion about her normality as she finished. "I'm in the past?" he said slowly. They both nodded at him.

"And there are demons in the past I take it? Ones that look like you and ones that probably look like a little kid with wolf feet?" he asked, trying to rationalize what he saw the other night.

"He's a fox actually, and yes he is a demon." The girl said. "Oh, but where are my manners! My name is Kagome Higurashi and this Kaede and this is Inuyasha." She said pointing to the old woman and the boy. Lennex looked back towards the ceiling assimilating, what he was being told. He was actually picking up a lot of faint power signatures like this boy's, but he couldn't find anyone's he knew. Maybe there was a little truth to what was said. After all, the first time he awoke he was in a forest. He wasn't sure how close a forest was to Tokyo, but he wasn't sure how long he'd been out, either. A matter he intended to rectify.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"We found you in the bottom of the well before noon and you slept the rest of the day and night away. How did you get into our well?" Kagome asked him. Lennex was quiet for a few moments. It was entirely possible they could have relocated him, but somehow he didn't get the feeling they were lying to him.

"I am the security chief for Capsule Corporation, have you heard of them?" he asked. The older woman, Kaede, who had been quiet all this time, looked as puzzled as the boy, but Kagome's eyes lit with recognition. He continued on, "I was after someone who had stolen something from our company. I chased him to the shrine with this well you were talking about. He threw what was stolen into the well house with a bomb, its how this thief gets rid of evidence. We had both seen you go into the structure a few moments before. I tried to find you and get rid of the bomb but before I could, it blew and then I woke up here."

The girl's eyes went wide with fear and panic. "Did you just tell me a bomb went off on in my family's shrine?" Her words started off low and steady but proceeded to pick up volume and speed. She turned quickly to Inuyasha. "Take me home right NOW!" He nodded and picked her up on his back and bolted out the door. Lennex stared after them, feeling the particular form of energy spike in the boy as he left. It was definitely something very different. The whole demon story might have more credence than he thought. He glanced at the old woman and then looked back at the ceiling. He wanted to do something but still couldn't quite muster the energy to get off the mat. Maybe some more sleep would help that.

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When they came out of the time slip and leapt out of the well, Inuyasha's nose was already working overtime. He could smell Lennex along with that other odor that Lennex had taken into the past with him. He also caught the scent of Kagome's family, along with the scents of a few other people. He caught a scent that was caused by the same thing that made Kagome gasp. The sides of the well house were blackened from the explosion. There was a small hole in the roof through which the sun was peeking. The odor of burnt wood that hung in the air was so heavy, even Kagome was able to pick it up. She went to the well house door and noticed a yellow police tape across it. Obviously the authorities were called in. She hoped her family was okay. Not seeing anyone around, she and Inuyasha went under the tape and made their way to the main house quickly. Kagome threw open the door and dashed into the kitchen. She was greeted by the grateful and relieved faces of her mother and grandfather.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright Kagome!" her mother exclaimed hugging her daughter fiercely. He grandfather made a small prayer symbol with his hand and joined the mother and daughter in hug.

"We thought that maybe whatever blew up in the well house might have hurt you, or that the well may have stopped working." Her grandfather informed her. Inuyasha put his hands in the sleeves of his fire rat harori and leaned against the wall watching the family fuss over each other.

The picture they presented reminded him of a time long past when his own mother used to fuss over him when he came home with bumps or bruises from the less tolerant village children who despised what he was. Kagome quickly filled in her family on their new guest in the past and the story he had told them, giving them the whole story of what had happened in the once quiet well house.

"If he is from such a big corporation, I wonder why no one from that company has come looking?" her mother asked.

Inuyasha cleared his throat. "Now that we know your family is safe, maybe we should go back and get a few more answers from the source?"

Kagome nodded her head. "I wanted to make sure you guys were all ok. When he told us there was an explosion I didn't know if you guys might have been hurt or what. Inuyasha, before we go, let's get a few more things from the first aid kit. I like Kaede's herbal remedies as much as the next person, but we might need some other modern things."

Inuyasha nodded his agreement and watched her scurry around the house collecting things they might need. Her grandfather went outside with broom in hand to start the daily sweep of the shrine; crime scene or not, his daily practices took precedence.

As Kagome's mother started boiling water on the stove, she caught his eye. "If it's not too urgent that you return, I could fix you a couple cups of ramen," she said with a smile.

Inuyasha tried not to salivate to where it would be considered drooling, but he vigorously nodded his head in acceptance. Kagome, who had just returned with a bottle of pain relievers, shook her head at Inuyasha's one track stomach. A short half hour later, after ramen and a few more words with Mrs. Higurashi, they were finally ready to go.

Kagome hugged her mother again and she and Inuyasha went back towards the well house. They crossed the yellow tape once more and Inuyasha picked Kagome up on his back and together they jumped down the well.

8888888

When they returned to Kaede's hut, they found their guest had already been introduced to their friends; the young fox demon, Shippo; the lecherous monk, Miroku; and the demon exterminator, Sango. They also found that in the time they had been gone, Lennex was able to move around a bit more, but he assured them that he was still hurting badly. He didn't really tell them why, just that he didn't feel anywhere near full strength.While waiting for Inuyasha and Kagome's return, Miroku had started to show Lennex the village he was now residing in. However, they only made it a partial tour as the fatigue Lennex was experiencing assailed him once again. Though short and incomplete, the tour was irrefutable proof of this being the past, and all of Lennex's doubts were erased.

. After the short tour, they sat talking until Inuyasha and Kagome returned. Sango was just finishing up how she had been included in the group when they had entered the hut. Lennex looked at the two of them.

"This Naraku character sounds like a real bastard."

Inuyasha snorted and Kagome shook her head and replied, "You have no idea. I hope you never have to meet him."

"I don't know. I may be able to help you sometime, whenever I get back to one hundred percent health," he said with a mysterious little smile. The group of friends thought that maybe Lennex's injuries may have been getting to him a bit but didn't make comment. After all, most men, even in the age were demons were present, scoffed at the idea of how powerful demons really could be.

Kagome took out the pills she had taken from her house and offered Lennex two and a cup of water to take them with. While he took the pills she put a question to him.

"We would like to know why your company hasn't looked for you. My mother said that besides the police and firemen, there hasn't been anyone else looking into the bomb."

Lennex dropped his gaze to the floor and exhaled. When he looked up he had a wry grin on his face. "It's probably because in the excitement of the chase I didn't radio in my position to the rest of my team. I sort of have a reputation for being a lone wolf," he said as he handed the glass back to Kagome. The humans and Shippo all looked at Inuyasha, who found looking at anything outside the door of the hut was more interesting then his friends and the conversation they were having.

"We kind of have an idea of what that can be like," Miroku said with Shippo nodding his head vigorously in agreement. Kagome smiled and asked the next question. Would you like to return back to our time? You might get more of the medical attention you need."

Lennex thought about it for a moment. While the past would be a truly wondrous place for exploration, he wouldn't be any good to anyone if he couldn't access his power. He nodded his agreement and slowly stood up.

"I think that would be a great idea, but I am going to have to ask you guys to lead the way, I seem to have been unconscious on the trip here."

The comment brought a few chuckles as the group gathered their various belongings. With Miroku supporting one side and Inuyasha on the other, they helped Lennex as they walked out of the village and to the path through the forest that would take them to the old well. The group talked about a few more things mainly asking Lennex about the types of things he did in his line of work. Lennex didn't mind, but he had to keep his stories strictly work related. He didn't know if these new found companions could take the fact that he was in fact a super powerful member of an alien race. They didn't seem to notice his lack of information on his personal life as he embellished on some of his more exciting cases. They traveled along, engrossed by his stories as they walked.

888888

Elsewhere, miles away from Inuyasha and his friends, another half demon walked along a rarely used pathway. Behind him came one of his spawn, a boy who stood half his height and had white hair. The face of the boy clearly showed a resemblance to the older demon and the eyes shown with just as much cruelty as his 'father'. He was dressed in a simple white harori and hakama, while the older of the two was dressed in the pelt of a baboon. The smaller companion foot caught on the undergrowth of the pathway and stumbled a little bit. After regaining his balance he spoke his frustration. "Naraku, tell me again why we don't use other modes of transportation to get where we are going?"

The half demon, Naraku, underneath the baboon face that covered his head and face, smiled at his spawn's discomfort. He himself had navigated the path flawlessly. He responded with a lofty air. "Because my dear Hakadoshi, the man we are going to see is not used to seeing demons or anyone else just drop in out of the sky, or appear almost instantaneously, even though he is slowly starting to master these techniques himself."

This caused Hakadoshi to pause. "I thought you said we were off to see a human?"

Naraku laughed this time at Hakadoshi's surprise. "We are, but this human has been working on perfecting his study of martial arts. He is working on raising his own power through discipline and study. It is said he is already as strong as a lower class demon, and is close to mastering such things as flight and super speed. It is he that will help us destroy our little problems."

"Incredible," Hakadoshi said continuing his pursuit of Naraku, "I never thought a lowly human would gain this kind of power."

Naraku had to agree. When he learned of this human he was indeed surprised, but like everything else he quickly found a way to use it to his advantage. Something he explained to his follower. "I agree this is a most unusual human, but he is still in the infancy of his art form. With a little help from me, he will gain the power he is so close to accessing, but that he cannot achieve on his own. Like all humans, when a goal is just within reach but not quite attainable, an easy way out is always preferred to possible failure. Once he realizes that I can help him, he will be mine."

Hakadoshi smiled. "You plan on increasing his power with the fragments of the Shikon Jewel, don't you? And if you have the shards tainted, he will surely fall under your control.

"You are correct. And once we have him as our new slave, the rest of the jewel shall be mine, and Inuyasha and his friends will be dead."

The two creatures, so consumed by evil, laughed at the fate that would befall their enemies as the continued to their destination.


	3. A Deal With the Devil

**Chapter 3: A Deal with the Devil**

"What business do you have with me?" the man named Kalin asked the two strangers that had just stepped into the clearing he used for practice. They were a strange pair, one wore the pelt of a baboon, and the other wore normal attire. He had just finished his morning exercise; the power of flight was almost his to master, but he still hadn't gotten off the ground for more then a few seconds. He didn't need company right now.

"At ease, friend. We only come in search of a great teacher to guide us in our new fledgling powers," the man in the pelt said. This caught Kalin's interest right away. What power could they mean?

"Explain your self," was the only thing he said in reply, trying to mask his interest. The man smiled at him.

"I and the boy here have been trying for years to become stronger. Much as we have heard you have done your entire life. That is why we have come to you, to seek your guidance and wisdom. In the past several years, we have taken our first steps, achieving a bit of levitation, but mastery still eludes us. We were hoping you would be able to guide us?"

Kalin couldn't believe his ears. These two had achieved in years what he couldn't after a lifetime? Impossible.

"Prove yourself, lest I think you are a fraud," he bit out angrily.

The man in the baboon skin nodded and removed the head piece, handing it to the boy. Kalin quickly studied the stranger's features; he had long dark hair and a face that looked of nobility. His eyes, however, showed cruelness that Kalin could not pick up on behind the mask. He quickly forgot about these observations when the man rose in the air, hovering five feet from the ground. This level of control of power couldn't be possible, not after only a few years of study! Kalin himself had been training in the art since he was a boy, and his attempts at levitation lasted mere seconds. He then noticed the strain on the man's face. The sweat was starting to bead down his forehead and his face took on a grimace. He started swaying in the air until suddenly he dropped to the ground hard, going instantly to his knees. He looked up at Kalin and spoke.

"As you can see, that little bit is enough to weaken me. Surely you can help us with your knowledge?"

Kalin's face must have betrayed his feelings and the man's next statement tore at his heart.

"You have mastered this ability, have you not? We were told you were the greatest man alive who knew how to control his own body. Please tell us the truth, Master."

The last phrase tore even more. _Master_. He wasn't a master of anything. He should have been able to do the things he had envisioned. To become stronger, faster, able to fly, able to channel his energy into forms of defense and attack, yet in a few short years these two had done what he couldn't after a lifetime of training. A tear rolled down his face as he realized he may never see his dream flourish.

"What you seek I cannot grant you. You are farther advanced than I," he said, trying to keep his emotions in check before he embarrassed himself in front of these strangers. Kalin turned his back but not quickly enough, as the man saw the look of anguish come across his face. The man nodded slowly as he stood up. He spoke once more. "I have not been entirely honest with you, Master. When we started out on this journey, we couldn't even grasp the basics of what we were trying to do. We spent so much time bickering between ourselves and others out there that we never got off the ground once. It wasn't until we found these that we were able to levitate." As he finished speaking he held out his hand. Kalin was well versed in ancient lore and he knew what the shiny pink pieces of crystal were. Fragments of the legendary Shikon Jewel. He was snapped out of his wonderment by the man once more.

"We found these along our travels and it boosted our power greatly, but still not enough to do more then what we did. That's why we sought you out. We gazed upon you before you took notice of us this morning and your powers equal our own without aid of the jewel. We thought that maybe if we gave you the jewel fragments, you might be able to show us how to use our own powers more efficiently."

Kalin bowed his head in thought. He was close. So close he could taste victory. And after seeing these two men accomplish the same tasks he knew he had no other choice. Perhaps taking the shards he could also teach himself how to further his ability without them. But would it be right?

"I can see this decision weighs heavily on you. Perhaps the people that directed us to you were right after all. I didn't want to believe them when they said you were just a crazy hermit with unfathomable goals and ideas. I wanted to believe so badly but, perhaps they were right. Come along my young friend, let us seek out another." He took back the mask from the shorter companion and started walking back towards the forest.

"Wait!"

The shout froze both in their tracks as they turned back around to Kalin. He still had his head bowed but his fists were clenched and he shook. He looked up as he spoke. "If you will allow me control of your shards I will attempt to teach myself the ways you seek and then pass them on to you. Together we can find answers."

Both companions looked at each other in wonderment and then both dug their shards out of their skin. They walked to Kalin and dropped to their knees in respect, each holding their shards up to him. In total there were five. Kalin took the pink fragments and quickly slammed them into his chest. The piercing pain was minute as the shards entered his body. The pink glow slowly enveloped him. He could feel his power increasing. He also started to feel strange, like something was intruding into his mind. Unbeknownst to their host, the five shards in his chest changed slowly in color. They went from the dull pink to a dark inky black color. For a moment he felt alarmed but then the surge of power hit again.

"How do you feel Master Kalin?"

He looked down into the grinning faces of his 'pupils.' "I feel stronger then ever. The best I have ever felt in my life! It occurs to me that I don't know your name. And I should know the names of the people I wish to teach."

The man stood and spoke. "I am Naraku, this is Hakadoshi," he motioned to the boy. "Perhaps when you get a bit more accustomed we can go on a little quest. I hear the village that gave us those falsities about you being a fake has a few more shards to help us out in our journey together."

Kalin started. Those people had always shunned him because he chose a life of solitude, and he only visited the village for supplies once a month. They dare slander his name. This power felt so good, and the promise of more! For the briefest of moments this unspeakable rage caused a spark of doubt in his mind. But then Naraku clasped his shoulder in a friendly jester, and all doubt went away.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"I'm assuming this wasn't the way this was supposed to work?" Lennex yelled up to his new friends at the top of the well. A minute ago he, Inuyasha, and Kagome had leapt into what they called the Bone Eater's Well. Inuyasha had cradled them both to his body, one on either side when they jumped in. Only problem was that those two seemingly passed into the ground and disappeared, whereas he abruptly hit the ground hard. His already weakened body protested against the impact. His only saving grace was that his Sayjin bone structure was twice as strong as a human's. The pain, however, was just the same. He looked up to the three concerned faces looking down on him.

"I'm afraid not my friend," Miroku said. "You should have passed along with them. For some reason this portal to your and Kagome's world rejected you."

"Oh good," Lennex muttered to himself, "I thought my days of being rejected were over. The little fox demon snickered while the two humans looked on in puzzlement. He winked up at the kid remembering that Shippo was a demon and his hearing was a lot better than a human's.

"So any idea how I get out of here?" he said loud enough for all to hear. Just then a bright blue light flashed from the bottom of the well and Inuyasha and Kagome appeared up through the ground.

"We seem to have lost something on the trip forward." Inuyasha said wryly.

Kagome shook her head at the lame attempt at humor. She would have to monitor the things he and Souta watched while in the future. It was ironic to her, since the "violence" on television bared no comparison to what she'd seen here in the Feudal Era. Inuyasha grabbed both Kagome and Lennex and easily leapt out of the well, landing lightly on the grass. Lennex sat down, his body begging for rest. He hadn't felt this human since…well, since he was a human. It was more than a little humbling.

"So what do we do now?" Sango asked. The group looked at each other and then at Lennex. He stared at the skyline in thought, and then nodded to himself a couple times. He took out a card from one of his pockets and handed it up to Kagome.

"This is my personal Identification card. It has my number to Capsule Corporation on it. My access code is 22487-A. Dial that phone number on the back and punch in that code when prompted. It will take you to my boss, Bulma Briefs, and she may be able to figure something out. Time I reported in anyway. Just tell her what happened and give her the location of your shrine. Tell her to keep the initial team small when she comes. I guess the easiest way would be to have her also bring a recording device. That way, you can bring it back when you cross back over, and I can make a message for her. With my card and code she should believe everything, but I know Bulma. She will want confirmation it's really me." The group from the past chewed over what he had just said. Most of the terms he was using were foreign to them, but Kagome nodded. She'd seen enough TV to understand the whole security codes thing. She scrawled down the code with one of her school pencils from her pack on the back of the card and looked at Inuyasha.

"I sure hope we don't burn out the well with all this back and forth travel." Inuyasha snorted and looked back at the rest. "You guys go back to the village while we're gone. No sense in staying out here." He said. Miroku nodded and offered Lennex his hand helping him back to his feet. Shippo hopped up on Lennex's shoulder to ride along back to the village. Lennex saw Kagome about to say something to the kit, most likely a "get-off-the-injured-guy" speech, and quickly intervened.

"What's going on little guy, tired of riding with Miroku? I don't blame you, riding with that guy is dangerous, the way he flirts with all those girls. I wouldn't want to be close to him when Sango puts him inline."

This must have satisfied Kagome because she smiled at him and didn't say anything. The kit however laughed, while Sango turned a lovely shade of pink. Miroku however picked that moment to be himself.

He quickly slid up behind Sango and spoke. "That is just because the lovely Sango is afraid that my interest in her will fade. I assure you and her that this could never happen; she is just too lovely to ever forget." While the words were pretty and Sango's flush darkened a bit, it quickly disappeared as Miroku's hand slowly caressed her backside.

The slap echoed across the forest. Lennex shook his head along with the rest as Miroku rubbed his face where a nice Sango-sized handprint now showed. Inuyasha turned and headed for the well calling out to Kagome to hurry up. With a quick goodbye they both jumped into the well. Lennex walked beside Miroku, while Sango walked in front of them, arms folded and a very cross look on her face. Miroku hurried to catch up to Sango. It wasn't long before another slap echoed through the trees. Lennex and Shippo shared a knowing glance and Shippo summed up their thoughts in one simple phrase.

"What an idiot."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Kagome sat at the top of the main stairs to the shrine. She had contacted this Bulma Briefs, apparently one of the most powerful women in Japan, about an hour ago and set up a time for her to check out the shrine. She snickered; it wasn't so much "setting up a time" as it was a command to stay put. Bulma was a bit startled that a young Tokyo girl had obtained her chief of security's access number, but as Lennex had said, just having the code made Bulma take the story seriously.

"How much longer do we have to wait for these people?" Inuyasha asked walking up behind her wearing the standard hat that Kagome made him wear to hide his ears.

"They said they would be here a little after twelve; give them some more time, Inuyasha, its only five after. Besides, when was the last time we spent some time together alone? You know; just to talk and all."

Inuyasha's cheeks pinked a bit. He wasn't as dumb as his friends thought he was. He knew Kagome felt something for him; trouble was he didn't know anything about that kind of thing and usually tried for the gruff approach. But she was right about one thing – they hadn't really had a chance to talk about anything but jewel hunts. In the past they had some rather amazing talks. He had never opened himself to anyone like he did for Kagome; he felt he could talk to her about anything. He was about to reply to her little statement when an ill-timed silver car pulled up in front of the shrine steps. Two men got out of the back seat and went to the trunk as it popped open and started gathering various items. All of these things were new and confusing…he cautiously put his hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

From the driver seat exited a woman who wore a simple outfit consisting of jeans and a worn t-shirt. The woman's hair was a startling aqua blue, but the shocking feature Inuyasha noticed was the woman's mouth. Whoever sat in the passenger seat was getting an earful about something. He had never heard a woman sound like…_like_ _him_! He could imagine the score of remarks the similarities between the two of them would draw from Kagome, and silently thanked those above that Kagome couldn't hear her all the way down at the street level. The woman turned to the other two who had gotten all their gear gathered, and they started the ascent up the stairs.

The passenger finally opened the door and got out of the car. Even from the top of the shrine stairs, Inuyasha could tell the man was shorter than most, unless you counted the hair which swept upwards which added another foot to his stature. He wore khaki pants and a white undershirt with a blue button down shirt over it. He looked up at them and locked eyes with Inuyasha. Before Inuyasha realized it, he was growling low in his throat, hand now tightly clenching the hilt of his sword. He's seen that look before. It was the "I am everything and you are nothing" look. The look his damn half brother wore every time he saw him. Kagome looked at Inuyasha and nudged him with her elbow. He looked down at her questioning gaze, but shook his head. The other three had almost reached the top while the last was just starting up the stairs.

"Hello there, I'm assuming your Ms. Kagome Higurashi? My name is Bulma," the woman with the blue hair said extending her hand to Kagome when they reached the top. It was almost unreal to Inuyasha. This Bulma sounded nice and sweet and kind, nothing like what she had sounded down at the car. Kagome shook the woman's hand and introduced her to Inuyasha. He took the woman's hand like he had seen Kagome do and Bulma introduced them to her staff, which looked a little winded from carrying all that stuff up the long flight of stairs. Bulma then motioned back down the stairs to the man taking his time coming up the stairs, hands in his pockets and a look of boredom now on his face.

"That is my husband Vegeta. Like all men he's being a baby about doing something he doesn't want to do, like accompanying his wife on a fact finding mission to find one of our own. Like it would kill you to miss one little session and spend some time with me!" The last part she directed back down to the man voice growing louder and harder with each word. Inuyasha smirked. There was what he had heard at the car.

"Well," Bulma motioned towards the shrine, "Why don't you show us this well of yours. Vegeta can catch up. If I hadn't seen time travel before I would have thought you were crazy."

Kagome and Inuyasha both looked at the women like she had grown a second head. "You have gone back in time also?" Kagome asked.

Bulma shook her head no and laughed. "No, I haven't ever set foot in any kind of time device or portal or whatever. But we have had a visitor from the future before. I wish I could tell you more but it's really not something we like to talk about. The only reason I brought it up was because of the things you have told us."

They reached the well house and the two technicians quickly started setting things up inside under Bulma's critical eye. Inuyasha and Kagome stood just outside the door. Bulma herself held up a scanning device and pointed it at the well.

"I am definitely picking up fluctuations in the well. Lots of time distortion."

Kagome looked at the woman and said, "Excuse me, but you actually have a device that detects that kind of thing? You're really starting to make what I do not so special anymore." She finished with a little laugh.

"Like I said, after my little visit from the future I knew time travel was possible. Therefore I was going to figure out how and invent the machine to do it myself. I am a genius after all. And to get to that point you have to take small steps like being able to sense the field that time itself generates."

Kagome nodded her head slowly. She could tell the woman was deep in thought as she never once looked at Kagome during her little speech, constantly turning dials and pushing buttons on her handheld device. One of the technicians scrapped some dried substance off the well and put it in an analyzer. After a few moments he received the results and turned to Bulma.

"Ms. Briefs, we have found evidence that the XO-l2257 was indeed here. The chemical make-up is different now due to the explosion, but that isn't surprising considering the amount of energy that must have been released. We'll have to analyze further to get a better understanding."

Bulma glanced at the readings the man had and nodded. They continued to monitor a few more devices and take readings.The terms they were using were beyond Inuyasha. Sometimes he really hated the 'present.' That's when the smell hit him. It almost smelled like Lennex did after he had cleaned himself from the accident, but where Lennex had smelled a little different, he still smelled slightly human. This smell was neither human nor demon. He quickly turned and saw the short man of Bulma's approaching them. He grabbed his sword and crouched into a fighting stance. This smell was definitely something he had never smelled before. Vegeta stopped and rose and eyebrow at Inuyasha. He felt some type of energy in this boy spike. He smirked.

"Usually people don't carry around those archaic weapons anymore. Might you be a throwback from the past?"

Inuyasha growled. This bastard even talked down to him like his half-brother, Sesshomaru, all high and mighty and not a care in the world. The commotion however brought both Kagome and Bulma to them.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you picking a fight can I?" Bulma yelled walking to Vegeta. Vegeta snorted and replied "I didn't start this one. The miscreant from the past did." This caused Bulma to stop. Not so much of the accusation but because of Vegeta's observation. She should have seen that in the boy's clothing and weapon. He had to be from the past. Kagome however took his statement to heart.

"Inuyasha, did you really do that. These people are here to help out our new friend. You remember the one trapped in the past. Don't make me do you know what in front of these people."

Inuyasha spared her a quick glance but quickly returned his eyes to the other man.

"He's not a demon or a human Kagome. He's something I've never smelled before…something foreign…he doesn't smell like he belongs!"

Kagome looked at the other couple and she saw a subtle change in them. Inuyasha's words had definitely hit something because Bulma had paled just a bit and Vegeta had taken a protective stance in front of her.

"What does he mean smell different?" Vegeta asked. Kagome shook her head. No help for it now.

"Inuyasha, take your hat off," she said. This time he turned to look at Kagome and didn't look back right away.

"Are you serious? You always tell me I need to keep it on when I'm here."

Kagome glared at him for a moment. "Just trust me for once, would you?" she said. Inuyasha used his free hand to lift the cap off his head.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at what he saw. Bulma however reacted just the way Kagome and her mother had the first time.

"How cute!" she squealed coming around from behind Vegeta. "You have little dog ears, there so adorable!"

Vegeta sighed with disgust. Leave it to Bulma to ruin a perfect opportunity to clean someone's clock.

"Why do you have dog ears anyways? Mutation? Experiments, what?" she asked staring at the two fuzzy white appendages on the top of Inuyasha's head.

"Keh, I'm half dog demon that's why." He said trying to get out from under the woman's scrutiny. Every woman he'd met in Kagome's time did this; just one more reason to get done and get back, he thought to himself.

"That is why he can smell whatever it is he smells. His senses and strength are greatly amplified from a normal human's." Kagome filled in hoping that her gut instinct was right. Earlier this woman had given information on time travel because they themselves had give up their own secret. She wasn't disappointed this time either.

"A demon? They really did exist in Earth's past? That's amazing. You are definitely going to have to tell me stories. And you're saying that he can smell that Vegeta is different? I never once thought to think if a Sayjin smelled different from a human."

Vegeta started and looked appalled at Bulma. All these years trying to keep that little fact a secret and she just blurts it out. The other two stared at the woman as she contemplated this turn of information. Kagome looked at Inuyasha and he just shrugged his shoulders. This was definitely turning from a fight, something he knew how to handle, into something he had no clue how to deal with.

"Excuse me, but, what is a Sayjin?" Kagome asked.

"They are, or rather were an alien race that used to live in this galaxy. Vegeta here is one of the last survivors of their planet's fate. I'd like to tell you more but, I think for now we can just stick to the basics. I'm sure you feel the same way about your demon as I feel about my Sayjin."

Kagome nodded. Until trust was truly earned, the basics worked for her. She took a minute to ponder this new development. Now she had to deal with aliens along with demons. Great. Something else dawned on her. Something Inuyasha had said. "Inuyasha, you said Lennex smelled like Vegeta here, does that mean Lennex is also an alien?"

Bulma nodded slowly. If this half demon, Inuyasha could smell whatever it was that made a Sayjin smell different from human then there was no sense in lying. "He is a Sayjin. But he wasn't born that way; he was actually transformed into one, although I'm not at liberty to say how."

"And that's why he still has a trace of human scent?" Inuyasha said putting things together in his mind. He saw Kagome's gape of astonishment and quickly said, "what wench, I do have some brains and can figure things out."

Kagome quickly turned away. The utter shock on her face that Inuyasha figured something like that out must have really shown. She felt bad about it for almost a full three seconds. Then she realized he had called her wench again. In front of strangers no less.

"Inuyasha, what have I told you about that word? You know I don't like it when you call me that."

"Keh, woman I wouldn't call you a wench if you didn't act like one all the time."

That was it. Everything about the last few days had been strange and lots of explanations so one more wouldn't hurt. "Inuyasha, SIT!"

The rosary around Inuyasha's neck glowed a pale pink as the half demon was pulled to the ground face first with a crashing force. Vegeta looked on with mild amusement, Bulma with wonderment. "What was that?" she asked.

"The short version is that it is a subduing spell wrapped around his rosary. Whenever he makes me mad or is about to do something really stupid or mean or just plain Inuyasha-like, I say the command word and voila instant Inuyasha floor mat. And the rosary is permanent; only I can remove it."

Vegeta snickered a little. What kind of warrior would let themselves get trapped like that? His mirth was instantly replaced with anxiety as he saw the look in his wife's eyes.

"Where can I get myself one of these subduing things?" she asked Kagome. The two girls walked back to the well house quietly talking about men and ways to control them. Vegeta glanced down at Inuyasha, who was finally able to get off the ground.

"Is that as painful as it looked?" he asked.

Inuyasha glanced up at this 'Sayjin' and then looked after Kagome and Bulma.

"I hope you never have to find out," he said. Vegeta followed his gaze and nodded in agreement. Both males followed the girls to help with whatever they needed. No sense in tempting fate.


	4. First Encounters

**Chapter 4: First Encounters**

"We know so far that the well does contain some kind of temporal passage through time and that its 100 more stable then a time machine. While I don't advise doing anything that could screw up the present as we know it, the split timeline theory we were advised about by our last time travel guest shouldn't take effect here," the recorded visage of Bulma spoke out to Lennex and his audience.

Kagome and Inuyasha had returned almost a day and a half later with the small compact video device Bulma gave them. Apparently Bulma trusted his new friends without his confirmation. He wondered what had transpired in his own time but accepted the small device. Lennex started it up immediately upon receiving it and his new friends from the past had crowded around him to see the 'magic talking box' in action.

"We did find traces of a plastic charge along with a hardened substance that we conclude to be the XO material. We have taken back to CapCorp to analyze it. From what your new friends say, the portal allows only them to pass through it at will, so we are thinking that something with the XO allowed you to go through. Were not entirely sure why it allowed you, if it even was the cause, but that's the theory I'm leaning towards."

Lennex worked it through his mind. From everything Kagome had told him about passing through the well for the last few years; it had to be some type of variable he himself had brought with him. And the XO theory sounded very plausible.

"From what Kagome also told us, you were injured in the blast. We were a bit shocked to hear that." At this point he saw Kagome frown a little bit. The rest had no idea what a plastic explosive really was, but her being from his time he was sure she did. And Bulma's comment about being surprised to find he was injured probably confused her. Bulma's voice continued.

"We hope you were not too badly hurt as we don't have anything to send back to you to help out your injuries. It is out of season for our normal herbal remedy." Lennex's lip twitched in amusement; while the rest wouldn't have a clue what Bulma was talking about he got the message crystal clear. Korin, the walking talking cat deity that lived at the top of his namesake's tower was out of the healing Senzu beans, beans that, once eaten, would heal any injury no matter how severe, and also replenish ones energy.

"Furthermore, due to your new friend's excellent nose, we came clean about you being what you are." This caused a small surge of adrenaline to go through his system but after a moments thought, realized this was probably what had allowed Bulma to trust them so readily. "But only in name and origin, nothing else that goes along with being a Sayjin. I also gave Kagome a pill box with some capsules in them. Nothing fancy, just some food stuffs. I would hate to see you eat your past hosts out of house and home. Be careful while you're there. I told Kagome to come back and check with us in a week's time. Hopefully, we will have some more information on how to get you home, even if I have to turn Hope into a reality."

Lennex smiled once again. While the rest considered the last phrase the miniature Bulma had spoke words of consolement, he knew she was talking about the time machine her son's future counterpart had used to go back in time to warn them of his future's bleak existence. The Hope was something Bulma had wanted to create for a long time, but with a final message from the future's Trunks, she knew that the machine was dangerous. He had come back with a mission of stopping a holocaust from ever happening. Instead, by saving the present's timeline from the bloody massacre of the androids, he created a split in time at that point. One line was the one Lennex lived in, where Goku and friends had stopped the androids; the other was that in which the future Trunks lived, where the androids had killed everyone that he cared about, and then proceeded to lay waste to the entire world.

After hearing that, Bulma didn't want to risk building her own time machine and split reality again. However, this didn't stop her from working on theories on building it; she just never did complete any of her calculations so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. That she would speak of completing her side project for him did warm his heart a little. He shut off the viewer and looked to his newfound friends. While Inuyasha and Kagome didn't look quite as puzzled, the other three had confusion written all over their faces. Shippo was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"What exactly is a Sayjin?" he asked from atop Sango's left shoulder. On the opposite shoulder sat Sango's demon familiar, Kirara. The small form of Kirara mewed softly as if to follow up Shippo's question.

"Well why don't I let Kagome tell you? I'm not too good at story telling and I'm sure Bulma gave them a very nice and simple explanation."

He knew by the look Kagome and Inuyasha gave him that they saw right through his excuse. They knew he wanted them to speak of it so he would know exactly what was said in the future. And after their brief explanation, he knew what Bulma had said was on the money. They knew he was a human turned alien and that was it. He pulled out the pill box that Kagome had given him and looked through the capsules.

"Tell you what," he said selecting a capsule, "why don't we have some lunch, my treat, and I'll try to fill you in on what I can."

The group from the past nodded their heads in agreement only to back peddle as quickly as they could when Lennex threw the capsule. After the small popping noise and the smoke had cleared, a large refrigeration box stood where he had thrown the capsule, packed full of food. Lennex looked at the wary faces of his new friends. "Perhaps I should start by telling you guys what the company I work for is famous for creating." They could only nod in reply.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The smoke that billowed out from the huts of the small village hung in the sky like a black cloud. People ran this way and that to escape the madness that had consumed their quiet home. Men, women, and children alike screamed in terror as a few lesser-demons walked the paths marking quaint little streets of the village, but the real terror was the one that hovered in the sky. He yelled and screamed at the villagers to produce the shard of the Shikon jewel; when they didn't know what to do because they didn't know of any shard of the legendary jewel being there, he rained a destructive energy into their wooden homes. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the purplish black blasts from the man's hands were incinerated in an instant. The impacts of this wild energy sounded like lightning striking the earth, and the effects were just as awful. Craters littered the ground where it was struck by the flying devil, for he had to be a devil because no man could do this, and the wood of the huts started aflame when the energy hit or just came close. Those that got a look at the 'devil' saw the once kind face of the young martial artist who lived by himself to the south. Some who recognized him tried to plead with him but were quickly turned to ash for their trouble. Then the demons had come, adding to their already catastrophic problem. Although there was no time for talking with each other, the villagers all had the same thought running through their head; they wouldn't be alive long enough to see the next sunset.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Naraku and Hakadoshi stood on a small hill just outside the burning village, watching the carnage unfold. While the villagers slept the previous evening, they had sent the Saimyoushou, the giant demon wasps, into the village to plant a shard of the jewel in the unsuspecting village. He would be able to lead Kalin to the 'hidden' shard through the bond he now shared with the martial artist through the shards already embedded into his body. Some of the kindness still lingered in Kalin's mind, but the exhilaration of using his newfound power and the promise of more quickly banished the feelings of remorse for the destruction caused by his hands. It also made controlling him that much easier for Naraku.

"His power is quiet spectacular," Hakadoshi spoke from beside Naraku. "He seems to be on par with a middle class demon; it's amazing what a human can do with their own energies."

"This is precisely why I sought him out. I will use this 'master' to destroy our enemies, and then when all is over we will kill him. He would have eventually come into these abilities on his own and the last thing I want is these pathetic humans gaining power equal to a demon."

Hakadoshi sneered and looked at Naraku. "You can't tell me you would be afraid of a human with this little amount of power. I said middle class demons, not demons of our caliber. I would think you were afraid of humans." The smile quickly left Hakadoshi's face as a pain erupted in his heart. He clawed at his chest as the pain quickly dropped him to his knees.

"Remember, Hakadoshi, that you are my detachment, and while I grant you more leeway then I do Kagura or the rest, your insolence will not be tolerated." The pain eased up and Hakadoshi looked up into Naraku's face. There was no malice or anger, only the promise of more pain should he not obey. Naraku looked off towards the village again. "Besides, I didn't say I was afraid of the humans, but imagine this, what if the Monk or the demon exterminator that run with Inuyasha were able to tap into this kind of power. It's bad enough having to deal with the demons that are hunting us, but if their human companions gained this kind of power, our goals would be that much harder to obtain."

Hakadoshi had to admit that Naraku had a point. While crafty and already powerful in their own right, if they were to gain this type of power to combat them with…he didn't want to think about it. As Naraku said, they were already enough trouble as it was. He picked himself up off the ground and resumed watching the massacre of the village.

"What is our next step?" he asked. Naraku smiled and replied, "The next step is to let Inuyasha and friends in on our newest weapon. They will try to collect the rest of the shards that we have hidden for Kalin to find. They will fight and fight and fight some more to stop the rampage we will cause. And then once Kalin obtains the last shard we have put out there, we will watch as he destroys everything Inuyasha holds dear, and then we shall destroy him."

Silent eyes watched the village as flashes of light and sounds of thunder reached their senses. The screams of the humans still rung out in the air, but Naraku and Hakadoshi both realized that the cries were fewer then before. Soon there would be no one left to scream.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Lunch had been an interesting affair. After Lennex had finally convinced his new friends that the food that appeared out of the capsule was safe to eat, he had tried to explain the modern marvel of encapsulation. After the first fifteen minutes of dull nods and confused looks, he finally went with the story that, in his time, people could shrink things really really small and keep them for later. This seemed to please everyone and they proceeded to eat lunch. Of course a second round of explanations was needed after Lennex ate enough food for a dozen people in record time. He explained that a Sayjin's metabolism worked a lot different from humans, and when they ate, they ate quite a bit. As they talked more about their adventures, Lennex observed his hosts with a critical eye. While Inuyasha was gruff and fierce to most, Lennex could see that he would defend any of his group to the death.

Kagome was just as loyal to her friends, but the exact opposite of Inuyasha. She was very kind and considerate to everyone, and he could tell that she put herself last and everyone else first. An enduring quality, but one he was sure that got her in trouble. He also saw that she held feelings for Inuyasha. He noticed it in all the small gestures and mannerisms she used towards him. He wondered if the half demon was aware of them.

Upon completion of lunch he learned that in addition to being defenders of humanity in their own way, Miroku and Sango also possessed keen intellects for people of the past. While his capsules were beyond them, some of the theories they had brought to the table about life made Lennex think he was perhaps sitting with two great philosophers. He would have to check when he got back to his time to see if these two were in fact people of importance in the history books.

Shippo was everything a child was supposed to be. He was cute, not afraid to speak his mind, and due to the people around him, knew that standing for everything that was good in the world was the right thing to do. Lennex liked the kit for this reason, but also for the fact that he could see something in Shippo's eyes, the will of a warrior. He noticed the rest tried to somewhat shelter the kit, to give him the childhood he so deserved. While he agreed that the kit should enjoy life as a child right now, he also considered it a bit foolish not to teach the young demon how to use more of his power. From the stories he had heard it sounded to him as if besides Shippo's illusionary magic, he also held some energy manipulation techniques. The story of how his father's spirit had erected a shield of energy to protect Kagome and Shippo from his father's murderers, the Thunder Brothers, gave credit to his thoughts.

After lunch was finished, the group went about their own ways, Inuyasha leaving to be alone. He watched the young half demon perch himself on top of Kaede's hut, reclined against the roof, hands behind his head and one leg propped on the other leg's knee. Lennex questioned why Inuyasha distanced himself but was reassured that while the words were harsh, one of Inuyasha's guilty pleasures was to relax and bask in the sun after a good meal.

Kagome and Sango announced that while Inuyasha had 'alone time' they were going to the small spring just outside the village to soak. They walked down the path, Shippo behind them because, as he claimed, he never missed a chance to go swimming with the girls. Miroku also started to follow the girls to their impromptu bath, but Lennex decided to have mercy on them and headed the ensuing conflict off.

"Miroku, why don't we finish that little tour of the village we started? If this is to be my vacation spot for the next few days, I'd kind of like to meet the rest of my hosts."

Miroku glanced at the boy from the future and then looked longingly at the disappearing backs of Sango and Kagome. Since he was a monk and in the service of Buddha he was charged with helping those in need. While he most of the time put off his monk-ly duties, he knew that this was one of those times he couldn't not turn his back.

He also was sure he knew why Lennex had the sudden interest in seeing the village and meeting the villagers, but in the case there was some actual sincerity to the request……

He turned back to Lennex with a smile and motioned with one arm to the path through the village. His other arm carried his staff as they began to walk, the rings bringing a musical accompaniment to the small journey. Miroku turned his head slightly to the point of disappearance of the two women and sighed. How he too had wanted to take in the sites.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Hours later, as the day progressed, and the sun started its lazy descent into the western horizon, the group had gathered again outside Kaede's hut. Inuyasha was once again perched on the roof silently taking vigil over the rest. Early, during Miroku and Lennex's walk through the village, they had spied Inuyasha helping some of the men build a new hut for a young newlywed couple. Miroku explained that while he sometimes felt like an outcast, the village had nothing but respect for the young half demon that had saved their village numerous times. After the girls had returned from their swim, both with smiles of thanks to Lennex, for they knew that their uninterrupted time was due to him, they had helped the women of the village with the crops and other duties. Now Sango sat in front of the hut, a sharpening stone in one hand and the other holding steady her giant weapon, Hiraikotsu, as she slid the stone down the edge. Lennex couldn't fathom this young girl wielding the cumbersome weapon, but was assured she did it with ease and skill. Kaede was joined by Kagome near the entrance to the hut, separating herbs and making ready the ones that had to be crushed. It was a duty that Kagome seemed to enjoy, for she liked to make sure people had medicine to help them when they needed it.

Miroku sat on the other side of the women, sitting cross legged, and hands resting on his knees. One of the ways to enlightenment was in meditation and he was currently engaged in that exercise. To the other's surprise, Lennex had joined him and adopted the same position Lennex hid a smile when he noticed their surprise. Spend some time with his master and friend Piccolo, he thought, and see if you don't pick up meditation as a hobby.

While Miroku looked for enlightenment, Lennex looked to align his Ki. His body was still stiff and sore, and raising his energy was still virtually impossible. When he tried channeling his power to raise it, he was hit was a wave of fatigue, like he had been fighting for hours. He couldn't wait to get back to the future and modern medicine, or at the very least, a regeneration tank for a few hours.

The last two of their group, Kirara and Shippo, ran up and down the dirt street of the village playing some game with the other village children. A small smile did form on Lennex's lips this time. This was indeed, not a bad place for a vacation.

Unfortunately, just as the sun was starting to disappear, his vacation went sour. He heard Inuyasha on the roof take a couple deep sniffs and heard him shuffle to the edge of the roof. Lennex opened his eyes and looked at the half demon. He noticed his body was tense and rigid, poised for action. The rest noticed too, and from years of traveling together, they recognized Inuyasha's behavior and made themselves ready.

But for what?

The answer came in the form of a shout from one of the village sentries. Kaede, being the head priestess of the town, was always called on to help with defense of the village, which was why a young man ran to her to explain the cry of alarm.

"Lady Kaede! There is a man approaching on horse. He is being followed by three demons!" That was all it took to spur them into action. Inuyasha leapt from the roof and headed for the village perimeter. Lennex noticed Kirara transform into the larger cat form; her feet now blazed in fire and her twin tails twitched with anticipation. She was easily the size of the largest lions or panthers of the world. He did a double take as Sango shucked the traveling Kimono she wore and revealed the cat suit and armor of her family and village's trade—the outfit of a demon slayer. She quickly shouldered the bone boomerang that she was earlier sharpening and quickly straddled Kirara's back. When her master was firmly seated, the demon cat leapt into the air to follow after Inuyasha.

Miroku grabbed his staff and took off at a dead run after his two friends. The departures all lasted about five seconds total. While a little slower then the three seasoned warriors, Kagome and Kaede both grabbed their respective bows and quivers and started after them, Shippo bounding along in their wake. This was one time he definitely wished he could summon his energy. While he got meditation from Piccolo, the desire to help those in need came straight from his other master and friend, Goku. He followed the rest as quick as he could anyway.

When he finally caught up to Kaede, Kagome, and Shippo, the man on horse had made it to their position. Lennex could see the exhaustion on both man and beast. The rider quickly slipped off the horse and crumbled before Kaede, words that his village had been decimated by a monster quickly leaving his lips. Lennex, however, only paid partial attention; he was more enraptured by the scene before him. The demons pursuing the man had stopped to take in the new obstacles in their way. Inuyasha stood in the middle, hands clutching his sword which, out of the scabbard, had quadrupled in size. Lennex felt an aura of power radiating from the weapon. On his left stood Miroku, his staff held with both hands at an offensive angle in front of his body. To Inuyasha's right, Sango still sat atop Kirara, eyeing the opposition. What faced them were three creatures Lennex had never seen before. He could definitely tell they were demons, not just from the power he was sensing from them, but because they looked exactly how he had imagined they would.

One was something that looked akin to a crow, only four times as large, and while still smaller then Kirara, it was still formidable. It had three red eyes in its forehead and its talons looked razor sharp. The crow demon flapped its wings to put some more altitude between it and its enemies. It appeared as if the crow was going to live to fight another day, as it rose some more in lazy circles.

The other two, however, decided to chance it. One was a demon with lupine form and it zeroed in on Inuyasha. It was large and its mouth split three different ways to emit a howl of attack. Inuyasha met it head on. The other demon was a larger-than-life centipede. Longer then a bus, it slithered with an unnatural quickness that its size boasted it couldn't possibly have. It moved like a snake, slithering this way and that and raising itself to pounce on Miroku's position. The monk jumped to his left, swinging his staff one handed back at the body of the centipede, the razor edges of the top slicing into the demon.

Sango quickly spied the crow demon as it continued its departure, and went to Miroku's aid. Lennex watched as she reared her arm back, and with a mighty shout threw her weapon. The boomerang flew through the air, impacting with the centipede's body. A large cut formed towards the rear end of the demon and it bellowed in pain. It turned to Sango and opened its mouth; a spray of acid erupted forth. Had it not been for Kirara's superiority in the air and quick maneuvering, Sango wouldn't have been around to catch the return of her weapon. With the centipede's attention on Sango, Miroku reached into his robes and removed some slips of paper with some kanji on them. He took aim and threw the papers and the demon. The sacred sutras glowed a pale blue and flew like darts until they impacted the demon, a blue aura surrounding the centipede and a crackling of spiritual energy coursed over the demons body. It screamed in pain and started to twitch and wither on the ground trying to remove the sacred sutures. The centipede managed to rip the offending slips of paper from its body; however the damage had already been done. Its body had been weakened and this time the throw of the Hiraikotsu did more then cut, it severed, passing through the demon's body at the midsection. As the top half fell to the ground, the return of the boomerang passed through what would be the neck, severing the head. Miroku walked up to the body and planted his staff in the ground. He then took his now free hand and unwrapped the beads surrounding his cursed hand.

Lennex watched in awe as the beads came off and a swirling vortex grabbed up the broken body and anything else that wasn't firmly planted in the ground. The pieces of demon, loose dirt, grass and other things flew into the monk's hand, entering a void of nothingness. When Miroku was satisfied that the body had been completely taken in, he wrapped the beads quickly around his hand, silencing the curse known as the Wind Tunnel.

Both combatants looked to their third comrade. Inuyasha was definitely stronger than the lupine demon, but the thing was undeniably faster. Every time Inuyasha swung the Tetsusaiga for a killing blow it would dodge and then try to rip out Inuyasha throat, Inuyasha dodging just in time. It had been a back and forth struggle during the entire centipede battle but Inuyasha finally saw his opening. He swung the sword from right shoulder to left hip, over extending as he went. The demon leapt out of the way as the swing presented Inuyasha's back to it. It leapt in, its animalistic instincts crying for the blood that was about to spill. However, Inuyasha continued his turn, his arm lashing out and backhanding the demon right across the face.

The demon flew in a lazy arc and impacted with the ground, its bell had clearly been rung. It rose to unsteady feet and shook its head. It was all the time Inuyasha needed. He raised his sword over his head and with a mighty cry of "Wind Scar" brought the blade crashing to the ground. When it impacted, Lennex felt the power of the sword spike as five tendrils of energy shot forth, ripping up the ground in tracks as they went. The energy hit the demon and killed it on the spot.

Lennex looked on impressed, while not as powerful as a Kamehameha or Final Flash; it was certainly as strong, if not stronger, than a normal energy blast. Inuyasha picked up his sword and rested it on his shoulder turning with a smirk to the onlookers. That's when a shrill cry echoed from above.

Inuyasha half turned and cursed himself. The crow demon that he had though had left had just taken air to do what it was doing now. It had dived for him from a high altitude, poised to strike, and while the blow wouldn't kill him, he knew it was definitely going to hurt, and he wasn't going to be able to avoid it in time.

The next thing everyone saw was a pink projectile flying overhead, impacting the crow before it could get to Inuyasha. Inside the aura of pink, Lennex could make out and arrow. When it hit the crow, the demon screeched out in pain as it was instantly purified. Nothing was left of it when the bright pink light of the arrow's impact subsided. Lennex looked over and saw Kagome, bow raised with one hand as the other slowly lowered from its position of releasing the arrow. He heard Kaede's compliment of improvement in her archery skills. Inuyasha sheathed his sword and headed back towards the group of villagers that had gathered to watch the battle, thankful that Kagome had hit the mark. A year ago he would have been deathly afraid that the arrow meant for his enemy would have just as much chance of hitting him. She had indeed improved.

The man they had saved was still going on about how his village was destroyed and that he was the only one who had escaped when the second surprise of the now waning day presented itself. During the battle the sun had almost set, casting everything in twilight colors. The purplish black aura that screamed across the sky could have almost been mistaken for light brought on by the setting Sun, except for the fact that it moved straight for them.

When it stopped midair above the gathered group, they all looked up in surprise and awe, for it was a man that hovered in the air above them. After stopping, the aura had disappeared leaving a clear view him in the darkening sky. The only one who wasn't surprised was Lennex. For this was something he was indeed familiar with. For the sake of it, Lennex tried to raise his power again and met with the same resulting failure. He couldn't get his body to cooperate. The man in the air looked around and spotted the man that had come to the village.

"You thought you could escape the fate the rest of your worthless village endured. You are mistaken," he spoke. His voice rang out, an iron determination lacing his words.

The man cried out in fear even as Inuyasha was about to deliver a retort and pushed past the red clad half demon racing for his horse and leaving the protection of the village guardians. Lennex saw the man in the air raise his arm in an all too familiar pose. Before the man could reach his horse, a beam of light lanced out from the open palm of the airborne stranger. The beam passed through the man's back and out his chest. When the beam ceased its existence, the man had a hole in his chest the size of a fist. He was dead but the last few impulses left over kept the body upright for a few seconds more before it collapsed to the ground.

The man in the air sneered at the group below him and spoke again. 

"Feel lucky that you and your village never crossed me, the mighty master Kalin. Since you have not crossed me, nor do you possess any shards of the sacred jewel, I will leave you to your pathetic lives." He turned in the air and rocketed off, leaving everyone to gape after him. Lennex felt the adrenaline leave his body. If asked, and he had been honest he would have expressed that he was a bit afraid at that moment. Without his power, he wasn't sure if his new friends would have been up to the task of taking out someone with Ki manipulation abilities.

He looked at the group and saw Kagome conferring with Inuyasha. He heard the words sacred jewel shards again coming from her mouth and walked over to get in on the conversation.

"He had about seven of them embedded in his chest; they were tainted though, extremely evil, like the ones Naraku has possession of. One thing's for certain, he can't sense the shards like I can or he would have noticed the two I have." Inuyasha nodded his agreement and Lennex was about to ask a question when the third surprise of the now-gone day occurred.

"You are correct, my dear priestess, A very astute observation. Now allow me to fill you in on the details you don't possess," a voice called off from the distance. As the mystery man had appeared, killed, and departed, the sun had set and the moon had begun its journey across the sky. A beam from the newly risen moon hit the ground on the outskirts of the village, illuminating a man dressed in the pelt of a baboon.

Lennex watched a drastic change come over his friends. Inuyasha quickly ripped the Tetsusaiga from its sheath, transforming the sword in draw. He brought it out in front of him in a two handed grip, blade tip pointing to the sky and the edge towards the man. Almost as quickly everyone else had their weapons poised for attack, and a deadly seriousness was on their faces, even Shippo's. The expression had not been there during the demon attack nor at the arrival of the mysterious Kalin. It was this fact that Lennex deduced the identity of this new person.

Naraku.


	5. A Plan of Action

**Chapter 5: A Plan of Action**

"You don't seem happy to see me; I thought it was your goal to find me and all that rubbish," Naraku chuckled, watching the already agitated expressions on Inuyasha and his friends' faces intensify. "I have simply come to tell you about Kalin and his new journey he is embarking on. If I left it to you to figure out, well, the journey would probably be over."

He watched as Inuyasha took a step forward raising the Tetsusaiga. The only thing that stopped the motion was a calming hand on his shoulder. It seemed as if the monk wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"Why are you here Naraku? You normally don't show yourself in person for fear of being annihilated."

The smile that graced Naraku's lips faded. The monk could play the game very well. The urge to eradicate him quickly passed through Naraku's head but he dismissed it. To kill them now would spoil the fun he had planned. He spoke once more.

"It is as I told you; I am here to inform you about Kalin. He is a simple man and he knows what he wants. Thanks to me he now has the power to obtain what he wants. And like most humans, what he wants is more power." He started to pace as he talked, never taking his eyes off his opponents. "Have you heard of a small village about 15 ri east of here? The new corpse on your land was from there. It was wiped out I'm afraid." He watched as the main fighters of the group tensed up at the news, and it brought Naraku great pleasure to watch Kagome's face pale as she brought her hand to her mouth in a futile gesture of hiding her shock. The old hag with the eye patch didn't seem to take the news any better…and who was this?

Standing next to the village priestess and Kagome was another man. Not old by human standards but two things caught Naraku's eye. His clothes were nothing he had ever seen before. They were torn and a bit dirty, but they were definitely a style he had never seen. They looked as strange as Kagome's. The second thing was that, unlike the other men of the village who looked upon him with fear and trepidation, this man had no trace of fear in his eyes. He looked at him like Inuyasha and the others. Foolish. Even Naraku could tell that he was weak. And he dared to look at him with confidence. Perhaps after he had completed his goal of killing Inuyasha and the rest he would come back and destroy this village, taking great care to make this upstart learn the true meaning of pain.

He slid his eyes off the new face and returned them to Inuyasha. "Kalin has a power that I did not think most humans could possess. It only took him about half an hour to kill everyone from that worthless village. And as I'm sure Kagome at least has deduced, the sacred jewel shards help him with that power. And with each shard that power will grow."

"Enough of your games, why are you telling us this crap? It's not like you to let us in on it," Inuyasha snarled. The hand on his shoulder could only pacify him for so long.

"Lowly half breed, if you could just keep your mouth shut and let your betters talk you might know why I decided to tell you this." Naraku smirked underneath the baboon headpiece again as Inuyasha's face changed color to match his clothes. There was one thing Naraku had learned; the best way to get to Inuyasha was insulting his intelligence and status. Something he knew his half brother had done quite a lot in the half demon's past.

Inuyasha shrugged of Miroku's hand and raised his sword to strike. "WIND SCAR!" he bellowed as the energy erupted from the sword on a course straight for Naraku. Just before it hit, a shimmering globe of reddish black energy surrounded Naraku, causing the wind scar to go over and around the energy shield, instead of striking him. Inuyasha raised the mighty fang of his father to strike again but this time was stopped by Kagome.

"Why would he destroy a village? What could be gained from it?" she asked Naraku as she placed herself in front of Inuyasha, a hand on his chest to halt the attack. Inuyasha looked pissed that he was interrupted in his second attack, but he obliged Kagome and checked his sword, though his body still radiated anger.

"My dear, you seem to have some brains after all," Naraku said, "but there was a reason he killed them; it was because they were hiding a jewel shard from him." Now it was time to see if his statement about her intelligence was accurate. Naraku wasn't disappointed.

"No way, you know as well as I do that the shards are pretty much in either our or your possession. Besides that if there was a shard this close to this village, I would have sensed it… You…" she seemed to stutter over her words finally coming to her own conclusion. "You planted the shard there. And since he didn't come after my shards the only way he'd know if there was a shard in that village is if you told him." She looked appalled at her realization.

It made Naraku smile even harder. "Of course I told him. A man like Kalin isn't as weak willed as you would think. It took some persuasion to take the first shards I offered him. He thinks he's on a grand quest to reach his full power; each shard will draw him that much closer to his 'goal' and that much more under my control."

This time it was the exterminator whose brain finally kicked in. "Each shard?" she asked the baboon clad demon, "How many shards are out there? Like Kagome said, the loose ones are pretty much gathered. How many have you hidden?"

"Excellent Sango, you have guessed correctly what I have done." Now that he had her attention, time to make a strike to her soul. "That kind of intelligence and wit is exactly why I decided to keep your brother around." Success. Even from this distance he could see her eyes glisten with tears at the reminder of her brother's slavery under his rule, but that was the only reaction that he considered weak. He also noticed her grip on the Hiraikotsu tighten and she'd taken a step forward. Now it was time to finish his mission.

"There are about six or seven villages in this area. They are peaceful little human rat holes with perhaps the occasional demon sighting, but for the most part quiet and serene. They each will have a new jewel shard brought to them without their knowledge. And of course with my help, Kalin will be pointed in their direction. Those poor villagers will never know what hit them. Unless of course, you think you can get to the shards first and protect the villages?" He let all the pleasure and mirth he had experienced since he arrived out in a fit of laughter that enraged them even more so. He saw the monk and the exterminator move as if they were one. Sutras came flying toward him to impact with his shield. The demonic and spiritual energy crackled violently against each other as dominance over each other was sought. Right behind the sutras was the Hiraikotsu. The force of the impact with the boomerang was fierce and the fact that it hit the point where the sutras were fighting the shield caused Naraku to force even more energy into that section to keep the weapon out. Finally, it and the sutras fell to the ground

But the attack did its job and forced his attention off the other two attacks. With the Tetsusaiga, glowing red with its barrier breaking ability, Inuyasha swung the sword out releasing the energized wind scar. Following the attack was an arrow glowing brightly with purification. They struck the barrier at the same time and shattered it, but didn't stop there. Both arrow and wind scar blew through Naraku, obliterating him.

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Naraku lifted his head up and opened his eyes. His back was against the wall of his room in his newly acquired castle, one hidden by barriers to keep unwanted visitors away. What brought Naraku out of the trance he was in was the destruction of his demon puppet. He smiled to himself though because it had done its job before its destruction. Now the only things to do were place the shards and watch the fun. By the time it was over, the so-called "heroes" would be tired from chasing after Kalin. There would be quick travel and fighting along the way for them. He knew that Kalin was strong, but at this point he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to take on the entire group. But by the end he knew Inuyasha's death would be certain. He laid several shards on the floor in front of him and nodded his head towards them. From the dark corners of the castle a buzzing could be heard as a group of Saimyoushou appeared and descended to each pick up a single shard. Each demon wasp flew out the open window in the room and headed off in different directions. Naraku smiled once more.

"Let the games begin."

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Keh, it's just another one of his stupid puppets." Inuyasha said as he kicked the twisted and decayed tree limbs, roots and dirt, components that made up Naraku's demon puppet, away from the baboon pelt on the ground. "Should have known that he wouldn't really come in person." He grumbled. He and the rest stood around the remains along with Kaede and Lennex. The rest of the villagers returned to their homes. The small attack and the appearance of Kalin and Naraku was more then enough excitement for them in one night.

"What are we going to do about this new problem?" Sango asked, looking at her friends. They all wore thoughtful expressions on their face but to Lennex he knew what their answer would be. He may not have been around them that long but he was around enough to know that they weren't going to sit around idle.

"We stop him is what we're going to do." Inuyasha said, conviction lacing his voice.

"You realize it's a trap. Why else would he want us to know what he was planning?" Miroku spoke up. "Our destruction is the only thing he could gain by us knowing his plan. While simpler then Naraku's normal schemes, it will have the same effect. The jewel shards we have will be in his possession and all the shards will be tainted even more with us being murdered by Kalin."

"You sound like we already lost monk. Have a little faith. I don't care if he can fly and do the things he does, he's still only human." Inuyasha replied to the monk.

Miroku held his hand that wasn't clutching his staff up in a sign of placation. "I wasn't suggesting that we would lose, just pointing out the fact that it is a trap with our deaths planned at the end of it. But even though it is a trap we have to spring it. I won't let countless lives be butchered if there was anything I could do about it."

The rest looked at Miroku in a new light. They knew he was noble at heart but a declaration like this usually didn't pass his lips. The girls smiled their agreement at Miroku but Inuyasha gave him an inquisitive stare.

"Why the sudden rush of nobility?" he asked the monk. Miroku bowed his head and held his free hand up in front of him in a gesture of prayer.

"It is my duty to make sure all creatures of Buddha live prosperous and happy lives. To not defend them against evil would be failing Buddha. Besides," at this point he opened one eye and his mouth curved up in a smirk. "I hear the women in the village east of us are of exquisite beauty, and to let them perish would be a great sin."

If there was anymore to Miroku's words they were cut off when the business end of Hiraikotsu impacted with his skull. Sango walked back towards Kaede's hut, Kagome and Kaede in tow, both the other woman looking back at Miroku in shock and wonder. Inuyasha stood above the now floored monk, his arms crossed in front of him, hands tucked into his sleeves.

"You never learn, do you lecher?" he said. Miroku rolled to his back, a hand on his head, but an expression of happiness on his face. Shippo hopped up on Lennex's shoulder and peered at the monk, and then at the other two. "He really is an idiot isn't he?" Inuyasha snorted and walked towards the village. Lennex continued to stare at the monk and shook his head.

0-0-0-0-0

Once they were back at Kaede's with a now coherent Miroku they discussed the new problem again. Lennex hung back and listened to them talk about the shards and how to defeat Kalin. He was trying to make his own decision on the best way to help. He didn't know how long it would take Bulma to figure out the mystery of the well so help from that end was going to be nonexistent. He could, however, tell them what he knew about Kalin's abilities. It was a start at least. He waited till they finished discussing a plan of action and cleared his throat. When they all had looked at him he spoke.

"Kalin is human, like Inuyasha and Naraku said, but his power isn't magical or spiritual or demonic like you guys have been theorizing. He is using his own body's power." When they didn't say anything he continued. "A person has their own energy, a life force. Some call it Ki, others Chi and others Chakra. What it all boils down to is an energy field that is produced by the body that can be controlled and shaped at will. Kind of like the Force." He glanced around and saw 4 sets of raised eyebrows. He glanced at Kagome and shook his head. "Right, 500 years too early. Anyway, if a person studies long enough and practices hard enough, you can use your energy to do the things he was doing; flight, strength, speed, and energy manipulation. And from what I gather these jewel shards of yours can increase someone's power. I have to tell you he is strong."

Finally one of them spoke up. "How is it you know all this?" Miroku asked. The rest looked at him, the same question in their eyes.

Well it's like this. I spent some time studying to use these abilities. Honestly I'm quite powerful, usually. Ever since the accident at the well I haven't been able to channel my power. I know it's a bit hard to believe but you saw the proof in Kalin. I'm trained to sense power levels and his was high. Your demon powers are bit of a mystery to me but they are almost on par with his." This last part he directed to Inuyasha. They all looked at him not really saying much. Lennex grew a bit nervous at their stares but Kagome finally broke the silence. "He hasn't lied to us yet. I think he's telling the truth. I mean if you would have asked me a few years ago if demons existed I would have told you no."

The rest nodded after processing the statement.

"Well now we know what were dealing with, that is a definite help." Miroku said. "Now what do we propose we do?"

"Start for the closest village at first light, that's what we do." Inuyasha said. "We try to keep pace with him. If we can get the shards and get out of the village we can spare those people and have him come for us. If he gets there before us, we know what happens. We're going to have to move fast. Kagome and I will go back to her time, pick up some stuff that will help us. It's not like were going to have time to hunt for our own food, well need instant things from her time."

The rest nodded their head in agreement. Lennex spoke up again. "If you're going back, I'd like you to take a message to Bulma. I'd like her to know that contact with us is going to be nil till this problem gets solved." As for the food I can give you one of my capsules. You saw how much food one of those contains. That will help you guys out in the speed factor. I wish I could help you, but at this point, whatever is wrong with me saps my energy pretty good. I'd be in your way."

"That's quite all right my friend," Miroku said standing up and walking over to Lennex. "You have given us knowledge on our enemy, which is a great bit of help."

Miroku continued towards the door. "I will go get some supplies here that will help us on the journey while you are gone to Kagome's time. Sango?"

Sango nodded her head and stood to follow Miroku. Inuyasha and Kagome also stood to go. Lennex quickly brought out the recorder and turned on, leaving a brief but detailed message for Bulma. He handed the device to Kagome and the four exited the hut. He stared at the cook fire for a bit till a voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Fear not child, they are quite good at what they do. They will succeed as they always have." Kaede said to him as she prepared some more herbs, probably for the journey. He believed her when she said they were good, but it still nagged on him that this type of thing was usually not a problem for him. He cleared his mind and tried to raise his power. As before the power would not come and he was left feeling more tired then he was before.

"You ok?"

Lennex looked up at the fox kit and smiled. "I'm ok Shippo. I just wish there was more I could do."

Shippo nodded his head. "I feel that way a lot. But Kagome once told me that as long as I keep trying to do what I can and to do it the best I can then there isn't anything more I could do."

Lennex nodded his head in agreement as he thought to himself, here I am stranded in the past, being given sage advice from a kid. Had he done everything he could do? He thought about the Dragonballs. He could have had them get the radar from Bulma and search for them, but if his calculations were correct and he was sure that they were, Kami wouldn't be on Earth for another seventy or so years, so the Dragonballs wouldn't exist in this time. And he was pretty sure that while the dragon was powerful, there wasn't any way it could grant a wish in the future to affect the past.

If only Korin had some Senzu beans. He could have had Kagome grab a couple and he was sure that by eating one, whatever effects he was feeling now would be gone. And he could fight. But the Senzu were gone. They had probably used the last of them up in a fight or a sparring match taken too far. He heard Korin gripe about how the things weren't easy to grow and since the little boy known as Goku had found his tower; he had nothing but trouble keeping the beans in stock. And Lennex could agree now with Korin, that they did use the beans too much. If they would have used them only in life or death situations then there would be one available to him.

Lennex shook his head. No sense in beating a dead horse. He stood up to walk outside and his thoughts all came tumbling back to him in an instant. Before Goku came about there were lots of Senzu beans. Korin was a deity in his own right and from what he knew of ancient history, Korin was around a lot longer then Kami was. He knew that because Korin talked about the previous Guardians of Earth before Kami. He might not have any beans in the future; but what about in this time?

"Lady Kaede, I have a question for you." He spoke, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, for he didn't want to get hopes up if he was wrong. "Is there talk or stories or do you have a general knowledge about a tower that stretches into the sky, probably, oh a hundred or so miles south from here?"

Kaede shook her head "I am not sure because I'm not sure what a mile is." Lennex almost smacked his head. He had to keep reminding himself that this was the past. He did a few quick calculations in his head.

"About 40 to 45 ri south of here." He said with the new distance.

Kaede thought about it for a moment but shook her head in a negative. "I am sorry but I am really not familiar with anything more then 20 ri radius from here. I have lived here a long time and don't generally travel that far. However, Miroku met the others south of here. He has traveled quite a bit; he or perhaps Sango might know more."

"It's worth a shot, thank you Kaede." Lennex said he then turned to Shippo. "Think you can track down Miroku and Sango?"

The kit nodded his head and took a few breaths through his nose. He nodded again and went through the door, Lennex not far behind him.

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It only took them about ten minutes to locate the two and when they did Lennex had to clamp a hand over the kits mouth before he said anything. They were standing by a hut with some newly acquired food stuffs but the fact that Sango was in Miroku's arms was what almost set the kit off. Lennex sort of suspected there might be something between the two, although Miroku certainly had his own unique way of showing it. It wasn't that they were doing anything other then hugging, but from Shippo's almost explosive reaction, he knew this was something that didn't occur often. They had spotted them as they had rounded a hut just down the dirt path that was used as a street in the village. Before Shippo said anything he quickly grabbed he kit and pulled back out of sight. He released the kit's mouth and said, "Now I know that you want to make a comment or two but let's wait till Miroku is alone. No sense in embarrassing Sango eh?" The young demon considered it and nodded in agreement. While he had gotten the urge to help all those in need from Goku, and most of his viciousness and fighting prowess from Vegeta, one of the gifts he had received from Piccolo, was the ability to read people to a fault. He wasn't always right but more often then not, he got a good understanding from body language and actions. And he was sure these two were in love with each other; just for some reason they had not figured out how to express it out in the open.

However often these meetings happen he wasn't sure, but if he judged the other two new friends of his right, this was a lot father then those two had taken their relationship. He whispered something in Shippo's ear and the kit nodded. They walked back the road a bit and then turned back around. When the started walking again, Lennex took care to drag his feet a little to make noise he then spoke.

"Are we getting any closer to them Shippo? I really need to talk to them." He said a bit loudly. Shippo replied with the same decibel. "I think they are right up this way."

When they rounded the corner they saw that the two now had a fair amount of distance between them, but the blush in Sango's cheeks was present. Lennex acted like he didn't notice and presented the same question to them that he had asked Kaede.

"Father used to talk about a tower like that. No one from our village had ever been there though. The village that lies at the base of the tower was rumored not to like strangers too much," Sango answered.

Miroku nodded his head. "I too have heard of this tower, no one really knows anything about it other than its size. It can be seen from a distance, but as Sango said the villagers really are not friendly, which is odd."

The eyebrow that rose on Lennex's face was enough to make the monk continue.

"The monks and holy figures that have passed by this area have spoken of a holy aura. With something like that present you would think the people might be a little nicer."

Lennex could have almost jumped into the air and shouted he was so happy. This was it, Korin's tower. From the stories he'd heard when he first met Goku and the rest, the village didn't like strangers because the tower was precious to them and they didn't want any harm coming to it. But it was definitely here.

"I have a new plan." Lennex said, "And I need you to get me whatever passes for transportation in these parts."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Upon an impulsive decision and the threat of multiple Sit commands, Kagome and Inuyasha decided to spend the rest of the night in her time. They had gone to a store that was open twenty four hours a day to get food for the journey, and Kagome argued that she wanted to spend time with her family just in case. This had set off a side argument with Inuyasha about how he figured she thought he couldn't protect her and it had ended with a face plant into the hard concrete of the sidewalk. Thankfully the streets weren't that crowded so explanations weren't necessary.

When they got home, her mother had made her favorite meal and the newly reunited family and one surly half demon enjoyed dinner together. Afterwards Kagome retired to a bath and left Inuyasha with her mother. Her brother and grandfather had gone out to make sure everything was in order with the shrine for the night.

After a little coaxing, Mrs. Higurashi had gotten what was going on between this young man and her daughter. She had to bite her tongue when she did to keep from laughing. The fights these two got in were so childish, and petty and cute. But then most lovers' spats often were. While she knew that nothing had happened in the past that would make a mother of a teenage girl worry, she did know that Kagome loved Inuyasha, and was almost certain he reciprocated.

She explained the need to be with family before a dangerous journey, and was sure she had the same argument her daughter had with the half demon. His whole point on his side was it was pointless to worry because he would protect her and she could come back whenever she wanted. Fortunately she was a bit more calm then her daughter and finally explained to Inuyasha why it was important for Kagome.

After that Kagome had come out of the bath and spent some time with her family watching TV and talking. A now pacified Inuyasha sat through the night without another negative word. Kagome had gone to bed and slept like a baby in her soft mattress and fresh sheets. Inuyasha sat against bed frame on the floor in his usual sleep position, his sword in scabbard propped against his shoulder. When they awoke it was still dark, but the promise of the sun rising wasn't to far off. Inuyasha went downstairs first to allow Kagome to dress and when she joined him in the kitchen, they ate the small breakfast her mother had left out for them.

With their supplies in tow they returned to the past and entered the village just as the Sun's first rays were washing across the village. When they walked up to Kaede's hut they were met with a new site. There was a horse tied up at the front and Lennex and Miroku were finishing tying saddle bags on while Sango made sure the saddle was secure. They waved to the approaching travelers. When they were close enough to talk without shouting Inuyasha asked. "What's with the horse? We've never needed an animal before?"

Miroku shook his head and pointed to Lennex. "It isn't for us, it's for him. He's going on a little journey of his own."

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at Lennex. "So where do you think you're going? This isn't exactly a time you're familiar with," Kagome asked.

Lennex finished tying the cord and made sure the satchel wasn't going to fall off, and then looked at the newcomers. He explained the idea he had come up with while they had been gone. When he was done the two could not think of any arguments against it. The only thing that worried them was, as Kagome said, this not being his era. When she voiced her concern Lennex was ready with an answer.

"I'm taking one of you as a guide." He saw Inuyasha about to protest and quickly held up his hands. "I know that you need everyone together for this upcoming fight, but I'm taking Shippo. He wouldn't be that effective against Kalin, and I need someone who knows both demon and humans. Sides with what I know I hope to help the little guy out when it comes to a fight." At the mention of fighting and Shippo in the same sentence, Inuyasha snorted. "The runt does pretty good but I wouldn't expect him to be that much help in any fight."

Lennex grinned and shot back, "I know, and I hope to wipe that belief from your mind. Give me some time. I may not have shown it but I'm very good at what I do." Shippo walked out of Kaede's hut with a few of his own supplies and hopped up on the horse to put his things in one of the satchels. Kagome noticed that he brought some of the paper and crayons she brought him. As a child it wasn't unusual for him to have that kind of thing, but with what she had seen of Shippo's drawings, he was a very talented artist. She knew that when they returned to the village his drawings would be like a picture diary of this trip.

After everything was settled with the horse Lennex pulled himself up into the saddle. . He'd rode when he was younger and hoped riding a horse was like riding a bicycle and that one never forgot. Miroku walked up and handed a scroll to Lennex.

"It's a map of the surrounding area. I marked a good route to get you close to where you're going. When you reach the last destination on the map, you'll have to find someone in that area to show you the rest of the way."

Miroku backed away and Sango approached him. "I know you have abilities of your own but since your unable to use them I brought you a gift of protection." She handed him a small bag. "These items are general purpose repellents and guards against demons. I hope they serve you well. And if they don't I also offer you this."

She reached around behind her and pulled something from off her back behind the Hiraikotsu. When her arm reappeared she held a katana. "I had to trade a few family secrets in the demon exterminator world for this but I feel you should have a weapon also. Have you ever used a sword?"

Lennex nodded his head as he accepted the sword. While he was still human he had trained with weapons such as the katana and staff, he hoped he remembered those skills too. It had been awhile since he'd used anything else but his body. With a wave to their friends, he and Shippo started off heading south. They watched him go and after a few minutes Inuyasha finally spoke.

"Come on guys, we got our own trip to start."

With that they gathered up their things and started to head out of the village themselves. Heading on an eastwardly course. They hoped they would get to the closest village before Kalin did. Already Kagome could start to feel the fluttering feeling in her mind that represented a jewel shard. By the time they exited the boundaries of the village, the sun had risen all the way past the horizon, and the day had started in full.


	6. A Rough Start

**Chapter 6: A Rough Start**

The group walked until midday when they stopped for lunch. Inuyasha did the first thing that came natural to him and complained about how weak humans were, and how they always slowed him down. The next thing he did was jump into the lower branches of one of the trees that grew beside the path. They had come to a stop at a hilly grassland area. The path they followed crossed this area and lead into a forest and at the 'humans' request, they had stopped before continuing. The fact that it was warm out, and a small stream babbled along near their stopping point had nothing to do with it, or so Inuyasha was told. Of course the moment he had jumped into the tree and reclined, showing an air of nonchalance, the girls had immediately gone to said stream, removed their shoes, and waded in.

Inuyasha snorted to himself, but tried to relax his body. Ever since the night Kalin had made his appearance, he had been on edge. The powers displayed by Kalin had caused him some concern. The way he had killed that man had been so sudden that even if he was ready for it, he doubted he could have done anything to stop it; that's what worried him. What if he wasn't fast enough to save his friends or himself? What then. The way Lennex had talked about this power, the human could do some amazing things, but as Lennex had said, the power was not more powerful than a demon's; it was just how he used it that was foreign. He'd deal with it when it came to that time, he concluded. No sense in worrying about it now. He glanced down at the girls who were still ankle deep in the stream and talking quietly.

He then took in the monk who was trying to prepare lunch. And by prepare he meant figure out how the capsule-thing Lennex had given them worked. Miroku turned the small cylinder in his hand looking at it from all sides. He knew the button on top was what made the item work, but he was trying to figure out how something so small could produce all that food. He feared it was something that he wasn't going to be able to learn and decided his rumbling stomach should come before his mind's hunger. He depressed the button and tossed the capsule away from him, once again marveling at the small box that appeared. He also wondered how a box like this was able to keep food cold and not spoil it, but paid it no mind when he opened the door to the box. The items of food were numerous and he felt his mouth water at the selections. He pulled out a few items and proceeded to fix something they could all eat. The breeze picked up a bit as he finished lunch and he welcomed the cooling wind. Sometimes these robes of his were so stuffy, but that was the price to pay, he supposed.

He picked up one of the breaded creations he made and walked up to the tree raising it up to the half demon.

"Here you go my friend; I believe I made a 'sandwich' as Kagome calls them."

Inuyasha took it and eyed it. He hated to admit it but the monk had outdone himself. The sandwiches that Kagome brought back were just a few pieces of meat and a slice of cheese. This one Miroku had made, however, had at least four different types of meat with two or three slices of each, and at least three varieties of cheese. Inuyasha took a bite and his eyebrows rose in appreciation. He nodded his thanks to Miroku and continued to eat. Miroku turned back to the rest of the food and found the girls already there. They eyed his concoctions, one with a look of awe at the sandwiches, the other with an amused look. Kagome shook her head, telling herself to have a talk with Miroku about over doing it with their food supply. Sango picked up half of one of Miroku's lunch specials and started eating. They ate in relative silence for a bit. They looked at each other and it was actually Inuyasha who said what was on their minds.

"Kind of different without the runt here huh?"

They nodded in agreement wondering what the fox kit was up to now.

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"And then that idiot, Inuyasha, shoved a tree down the well so she couldn't come back." Shippo continued to talk, not really looking at Lennex as they rode down the path to the next village. They had made good time from the morning, passing the first village on Miroku's map just before noon. They had stopped and gotten a quick bite to eat at one of the beef houses. Lennex wasn't sure were Shippo had produced the money from and asked the kit about it. He was then advised that Kaede had given him a small bag of what they used for money in this time. He knew it was a bit early to start using it but wanted a nice lunch without Inuyasha eating all of it. Lennex laughed and as they rode out of the town he asked Shippo about their past.

As they rode Shippo retold the story of how they first met, and Lennex felt for the kid after hearing again about the loss of his father. He was glad Inuyasha had taken out his father's murderers for Shippo. It did give him some closure. And so that was how their trip progressed. Shippo, being as small as he was, walked up and down the length of the horse's back, jumping over Lennex when he got to him and continuously regaled him with stories. The horse had gotten used to the kit's wanderings, even when he walked up towards the horse's head.

He continued on about Inuyasha's foolishness concerning Kagome, and his former love, Kikyo. This was a new piece of the story Lennex had not heard, and after the story was told, he knew why. It seemed that Inuyasha could not decide on which of his loves he was most loyal to. While he felt responsible for Kikyo's death, she was only a reanimated corpse, or so Shippo said. Kagome was everything Kikyo wasn't, and not just the alive part.

She wanted Inuyasha for him and nothing else. She didn't want to make Inuyasha a human. She loved all of him, demon and human, and had stood by him all this time even after all his running off to Kikyo.

He looked around at the countryside, taking in the tranquility of the past. The rolling hillsides, the little houses on the side of the road every so often for those weary travelers who couldn't make it to a village during the day. It was extremely peaceful, nothing like the hustle and constant moving like Tokyo or Satan City.

Shippo was just finishing up the story of how he had beaten the younger sister of the Thunder Brothers, his father's murderers, in a duel. Lennex raised his eyes at this and asked him to elaborate a bit further. It was then he found out that Shippo and the girl were the same age and their duel resulted in a coloring contest. Lennex laughed at the story, and again at the putout look he received from Shippo. He promised the kit that after this adventure, he'd have a few new skills in his repertoire. He caught the kit's attention with a nod as he felt the presence of some demons. Not quite like ki as he already assessed but still noticeable. Seemed like a good time for a lesson as any.

"Ok Shippo let me tell you a little more about Ki and how to sense it."

0-0-0-0-0-0

As they put lunch away, a typically tedious task turned into a magical feat by shrinking the food box back into its capsule, Inuyasha and company readied to continue on their journey. The breeze had picked up a bit more and started cooling off the sun-warmed air. Kagome made her way back to the stream to fill a water jug before they left. Inuyasha resumed his lofty perch and lounged in the tree, content after the masterpiece Miroku had given him. Sango and Miroku finished packing up the supplies that were still out. All in all, if this wasn't a journey to stop a madman, this would have been very enjoyable.

The wind whipped up again and blew Inuyasha's long white hair out in front of him, partially obstructing his view. He brushed it out of his eyes and looked towards the forest; he wanted to get through most of the way before bedding down for the night. It was then that he made a small but significant discovery. The leaves and branches of the forest were also being blown in the wind, like his hair. Only the direction was completely different. It was blowing towards Inuyasha, not away like the direction of his hair.

"Guys," he called out, "I think we may have some trouble."

No sooner had he spoken when six men on horseback charged out from behind a hill. They were almost on top of the group's position. They had snuck up on them downwind. Inuyasha leapt from the tree and drew his sword as the rest took defensive positions. He pulled his sword from the scabbard and swung and the first rider's horse. He didn't like taking the animal's life but better it and the bandit than his friends. His sword cleaved through the animal and the rider came tumbling down. Inuyasha saw the man hit and turned his attention to the next, knowing the first rider was down for the moment. He was ready to take another bandit out when he was jumped from behind. The first rider had gotten back to his feet quicker than anticipated. The second rider was almost on him as well.

Sango had quickly jumped on a transformed Kirara and took to the air gaining some distance and quickly turning to come back at two more of the riders. One rider raised a bow and fired at the airborne woman. The other had a long chain scythe and threw the bladed end at the exterminator. She brought the Hiraikotsu around to shield from both attacks, protecting her and Kirara, but the bandits proved not to be stupid as they separated and tried to flank her so she could only protect from one of them at a time.

The last two riders stormed up towards Miroku. He had seen Inuyasha's move and tried to mimic it with the bladed end on his staff. The rider pulled his reigns to his horse to move the animal out of range of the attack. The second rider did the same going around Miroku's other side, only this rider leapt off his horse and tackled the monk, the momentum sending them both towards the ground. The last rider continued on towards the girl by the stream. Kagome had watched everything unfold and quickly took her bow in hands and readied an arrow praying she had the time for shot. The distance closed quickly.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The impromptu lesson about sensing Ki had gone well until they had practically stumbled into another group of demons that were resting idly in the forest. And since they were resting, they weren't producing any type of energy signature to be detected. The kit's exuberant shout of delight upon feeling the first group of demons had awoken the two ogres. They were not happy about being awoken from their lazy slumber. Lennex kicked the horse in its flanks urging it to go faster. Shippo had bailed off the horse to allow Lennex more control and acted as a lookout in the air after he had transformed into what Lennex thought was some type of pterodactyl. He was quickly informed that the form was that of a seagull. Shippo weaved in and out of the branches, shadowing Lennex as he rode. The ogres were quickly running after them and gaining ground.

"Great, killed by an ogre, I can't wait to be made fun of for that," he muttered. Shippo quickly zipped out in front of him and landed resuming his usual form. Lennex looked at the little demon as he rode by and quickly pulled the reigns back stopping the horse and spinning him around. Shippo held up something in his hand and threw it at the lead ogre.

"SPINNING TOP!" the young demon shouted, and the child's toy flew from his hands. When it hit the ogre it grew in size until it was quite a bit larger than the beast, spinning and crushing the ogre underneath it. He heard Shippo chuckle in victory until the second ogre came from around the top and continued its charge. The color drained from Shippo's face as he dove out of the way. The ogre turned to follow the fox and Lennex decided it was time to make his move. He kicked the flanks of his horse, yet again spurring it into a charge. He pulled the katana from its sheath and held it by the handle so that the blade curved back along with his arm. As he neared the ogre, he swung his arm in a wide haymaker punch, putting enough force into the blade to cut the ogre's neck. The blade sunk in and Lennex quickly ripped his hand back pulling the blade free. The ogre cried out in pain, its head nearly being severed, and swung a wild backhand towards the creature that caused it pain. The fist connected, sending Lennex tumbling from the horse and onto the ground.

"Didn't need that." Lennex said to the ground, rolling onto his side. He thought his body hurt before this tussle. He saw the ogre advancing on him, blood streaming from its neck. The blow had injured the demon, but not fatally. Then Shippo was there, standing before him, thrusting his little hand out towards the ogre.

"Fox Fire!" he cried and an azure blaze sprung forth, enveloping the demon. The fire burned the ogre and did nothing to help the wound it already had. It also served in blinding the creature. Lennex got to his feet and spied the sword he had dropped during the fall. He quickly went to it and picked it up. The adrenalin coursing through his body made him feel more like his old self than he had since he'd been in the past, so he tried something reckless. He pointed his finger at the beast's forehead and willed his body's energy to focus at the end of his finger tip. Earlier, Lennex had explained to Shippo the art of sensing ki. Of feeling the fluctuations in a living being's energy by expanding the senses of your own ki. Of taking your own energy and throwing it outward in a type of radar. This was just the opposite. He pulled all his energy to one focus point. For a moment he saw a brief yellow glow at the end of his fingertip but before he could release the ki, he felt his energy wane once again. Fatigue dropped him to a knee.

"Oh not the best idea I have ever had." He looked up in time to see the ogre break free of the fire and send its foot out, punting Shippo like a football. The little demon flew back through the trees with a loud racket. Lennex looked up at the advancing ogre and with the rest of his remaining strength, stood and hurled himself at the approaching beast sword pointed directly outward. When the two joined the sword sunk halfway to the hilt into the demon's chest. The impact sent Lennex staggering back a few paces and he was glad for it because the ogre, now staring at the sword sticking out of it his chest, dropped to its knees. Lennex knew the blow to be fatal and so did the demon. In one last act before death claimed it, it the ogre punched outward and up, catching Lennex in the chest. The blow lifted the young Sayjin off the ground and back fifteen feet into the arms of an awaiting tree. Lennex slid down the tree until he settled at the trunk. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the ogre pitching forward, driving the sword blade to the hilt when it hit the ground.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The arrow was released as soon as the string was taut and she watched as the arrow impaled the rider in the throat; he fell back off the horse and lay on the ground unmoving. The horse continued to run past the girl in white and green. Kagome looked at the rest of her friends, quickly assessing the situation. Sango was still in the air fighting off two of the riders, while Inuyasha had knocked his second opponent to the ground and engaged in battle with both opponents on foot. The fifth bandit straddled Miroku's chest, forcing the young monk's staff down towards his throat. The monk pushed back valiantly, but the bandit had the advantage of leverage over him.

Kagome started off to help Miroku when a hand clutched her ankle, tripping her to the ground. She turned back and saw the bandit she felled gripping her ankle with one hand and pulling a small dagger from his belt with the other, the arrow still lodged in his throat. She squeaked in surprise and kicked at the bandit's face as he tried to crawl forward and stab the girl. The noise made Miroku glance at the young girl and then redoubled his efforts in the battle of strength he was engaged in. He tried rocking side to side but the bandit maintained a firm position. He finally went to his second option and shouted.

"Sango, Kagome!" he yelled.

The Demon exterminator heard the yell and quickly spotted the woman in trouble. She reared her hand back and threw her weapon. She watched the boomerang spin on its course and knew it would hit, but she was unable to watch it hit its mark as the chain scythe whizzed by her face. Saved by the bandit's poor accuracy, she directed Kirara towards the ground and duplicating the maneuver used on Miroku, leapt from her back and unseated one of the riders. His friend would have helped him, but the demon cat was now upon him as she took the rider to the ground.

The Hiraikotsu nailed the bandit, forcing him to release Kagome as the weapon shoved him away. She heard the bones in his chest snap on impact, but when the body and weapon finally came to rest, she watched in horror as it pushed the weapon off itself and started to rise. She quickly got up and ran to Miroku; kicking her foot in a wide arc, nailing the bandit under the chin. The force brought its head and upper body up and allowed Miroku to finally get an advantage he pushed with his staff and flung the bandit from him and stood by the his friend. He looked amazed to as both men stood and started advancing on them again.

Inuyasha observed this all as he fought his two. He saw Kagome's attacker rise after two fatal blows and his own opponent's miraculous stamina. He could also smell them quite clearly now that he was in battle with them, and he knew that every one of them had to smell like these two. They smelled like death. Inuyasha quickly scanned his surroundings. The tree he rested on during lunch wasn't the only tree in the area; there was one more that was a little ways off. He couldn't trust his smell at that distance but he could trust his eyes. And there were no other hills at all that could conceal someone from him. He knew that was his real target. The zombies and unusual wind concluded it.

He jumped out from between the two undead and swung the Tetsusaiga toward the tree releasing a Wind Scar blast. It hit the tree, obliterating it, and Inuyasha saw the form of a woman jump from out behind it, avoiding the attack. When he landed, he cut the two zombies in half with a sweeping swing of his blade and charged for the new target.

"I knew this smelled of your work, bitch!" he shouted as he charged down Kagura. The wind sorceress opened her fan and swung it towards Inuyasha.

"Dance of Blades!" she cried out, multiple wind blasts springing forth. Inuyasha used his sword to block and avoided taking damage, but the force of Kagura's attack still pushed him back.

Kagura smiled at the half demon and said, "What's the matter Inuyasha, surely you didn't expect Naraku to make this easy on you did you?"

Inuyasha growled in response. Of course he didn't, but he didn't expect this strong of attack at the beginning. Kagura was one of Naraku's detachments. A minion created from his own body and the power the jewel shards. She was capable of controlling the wind at will, shaping it however she saw fit, like the focused air blasts that were as sharp as any blade. Her other specialty was controlling dead bodies, making them act and fight like the living. Inuyasha renewed his attack, leaping for Kagura yet again.

Though his eyes were not as sharp as Inuyasha's, Miroku saw the altercation taking place and now understood what they were dealing with. His hand dug into his robes and brought out two sacred sutras. He charged them with his holy energy and threw them, one at each zombie approaching them. When they connected, a brief crackle erupted and the zombies collapsed to the ground, once again becoming the dead men they should have been. He nodded to Kagome and ran towards Sango to help her. Kagome went to Inuyasha's aid knocking an arrow and aiming for his previous opponents. This time she put her purification energy into the arrow and let it fly. When it hit the pink aura surrounded the corpse for a brief moment.

When it faded the body was still there, but the strings controlling it had been cut. It collapsed to the ground without a word. Kagome readied another arrow for the second one. Across the field Miroku had dispatched the other two with sutras and he, Sango, and Kirara approached Kagome as she nullified the final zombie. Then as a group, they went to Inuyasha's aid. He and Kagura were heatedly trading blows, he with the Tetsusaiga, and she with the wind attacks she specialized in. When she saw his approaching friends, she smiled.

"Well it looks like your playmates are here to help you, half breed. Too bad I don't have anymore time to baby-sit."

This earned a growl from Inuyasha but before the half-demon could attack she had pulled a feather from her hair and threw it to the ground. In her place was a whirling vortex of wind, closely resembling a tornado. When it dissipated, Kagura was gone. They looked to the sky and watched her fly off in the feather, now large enough to carry her on the wind.

Inuyasha turned to his friends as he put his sword away. "Anyone hurt?" he asked.

"Bumps and bruises, maybe a few cuts, but nothing serious," Sango replied. When the rest reported the same Inuyasha strode past them looking towards the forest.

"Come on then, I want to get at least halfway through there before we stop. We need to find a good defensible spot. Naraku may have us hunting Kalin and the shards, but I think hunting season also opened on us."

His friends nodded, and while tired from the fight, they knew he was right. They gathered up their loose belongings that were forgotten and discarded during the fight and started towards the forest.

0-0-0-0-0

Lennex awoke once again in the past to the familiar sensation of being carried. The only difference this time was he was being carried by cart and not by person. He lay in the back of a rickety cart being pulled by two mules. The people who sat at the front of the cart were an older couple. They heard him move and turned to face him.

"Hello stranger, how are you feeling?" The woman asked. Lennex had to admit he was feeling better then he thought he would. He sat up and looked around. There was still light left in the day, but not for much longer as it was quickly fading. He had to have been out for some time. The next thing he noticed was that his horse was tied to the back of the cart and following along, Shippo in the saddle.

"Your young friend there wanted to ride your steed when he awoke, I hope you don't mind?" the woman spoke again.

Lennex shook his head and then looked back at Shippo. "You alright little buddy?"

Shippo nodded his head, his brow knit in concentration. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you more, I've been practicing though while you slept, to…you know, make up for it."

Lennex waved off the apology. "You took one out by yourself, Shippo, and then had to help me with mine – I'd say we're even. So, what do you mean practicing?"

The older woman spoke up again. "Oh the little one has been back there with a very stern look of concentration on his face the whole time. Whatever he's been doing, he has been giving it his all."

Lennex nodded and turned back to the fox. Shippo had his eyes closed but quickly opened them. "There are three to the east, two towards the south, and a half dozen southwest," he said. Lennex looked a little puzzled for a moment before he figured out what the demon was talking about. He closed his eyes and shot out his senses. Sure enough the kits numbers were correct.

"Good job, my friend. We'll give you something else to work on later." He turned back to their hosts. "Thanks for helping us back there; I assume you found us in the forest?"

The woman nodded again while the man continued to direct the mules. "That we did, son. We saw you were pretty banged up. We found your sword and the child near you and gathered you up. It was the least we could do."

"Well I thank you again, I wish there was some way to repay you."

The woman laughed and simply said, "Nonsense, you just keeping us company is reward enough, and we couldn't expect any more than that."

Lennex smiled back and looked out at the road. They were quickly coming up to a fork and he brought the map out of his pocket. After reviewing the map he knew they needed the left fork. When conferring with the couple he found they were going right. They stopped at the fork and Lennex made ready to ride. He thanked them again and watched as they traveled down the path. Lennex mounted the horse, an exercise that hurt more than normal. His back was still tender from the impact with the tree and his face didn't feel right either. At least he was alive; not many could say that after an ogre backhand.

They traveled for another hour and just as the sun was starting to set, they crested a hill. Below them was a small village, warm and inviting.

"What do you think? A nice soft bed and a warm soak after our first battle together." Lennex asked with a grin. Shippo looked towards the village and then back to Lennex.

"Kaede did say to save this money for when we really needed it, but there is more than enough to give us one night of luxury for a warrior's hard day." The kit almost kept a straight face until his stomach rumbled. "Heh, a nice hot meal sounds pretty good too."

Lennex laughed and directed the horse towards the village. He looked at the kit that was currently standing high on the horse's neck. "How much money do we have?" Lennex asked curiously.

Shippo's hand went inside his vest and searched for the money bag. After a minute of searching, which became more frantic by the second, he turned towards Lennex. His eyes wide with panic.

"It's gone," was all he said.

Lennex shook his head and pulled the horse to a stop. "Your company was all the reward we needed." He said in a womanly voice. "All that schooling for becoming a security officer slash detective, and I let us get swindled by a mom and pop operation."

He looked around at his surroundings and then looked at Shippo. "Well let's go find us a place to camp eh? Man, what else could go wrong."

When the words left his lips he knew it was the wrong thing to say as a peal of thunder echoed across the valley. Shippo looked up at the sky and then back at Lennex. For his part, he kept his face downcast and shook his head.


	7. Training and Complications

**Chapter 7: Training and Complications**

They awoke the next morning cold and wet. Thankfully, the sun had risen and quickly raised the cool temperature. Lennex and Shippo had only been able to find sparse shelter the night before. The storm had moved in quickly and had only lasted a few hours, but it had rained hard. Still weak and exhausted, they spent the night under the biggest and thickest tree they could find. It had kept some of the rain off them, but not much.

Lennex had desperately wished there had been a capsule house in his pill box of goodies from the future, but Bulma had only packed him food stuffs. Sleep had come only after the rain had stopped, but it was a restless sleep; the fatigue of the day's journey offered some fraction of sleep aid. The fact was that, when Lennex awoke, he felt almost as bad as when he first awoke in the past. The small access of his power had done a major number on him.

He looked over at the fox demon; he had woken first and already had started a small fire. Upon closer inspection, he observed that Shippo also had two small rabbits roasting on the fire.

"Where did you get those from?" Lennex asked, coming forward to seek the flames' drying touch.

"I did a little hunting at first light. My father taught me the hunt, and believe it or not, Inuyasha continued that education." The fox said with pride. He then looked at the small rabbits and his posture deflated a bit. "Unfortunately, I could only find these, and they are not very big."

Lennex laughed a bit at the fox's wounded pride, not out of maliciousness, but just plain humor.

"You caught more than I did," he said simply, to which Shippo replied, "Ya, but you didn't hunt anything."

Lennex didn't say anything to that statement and looked upon the kit, waiting for him to put his point across in his own mind. He didn't wait long.

"So you're saying that just because I did catch something is more important than the fact of what I caught."

Lennex nodded his head in confirmation. He put his hand into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out Miroku's map. He had tried to keep it as dry as possible during the night, but found it was a little damp. However, it was still legible, so he looked over the map as Shippo distractedly rotated the rabbits to roast on the other side, mulling over the moral of their conversation. Lennex, after being satisfied with observing the map and figuring out how much distance they could cover today, put the map back in his jacket. The still damp jacket. He sighed and realized that his clothes were not in the best shape after the explosion. And after last night, they were now soaked. Sure they would eventually dry, but it would be a miserable time until they did.

He could have used his watch, he supposed. It was a Capsule Corp watch that Bulma had designed for Gohan back in his teenage years when he had taken up crime fighting in Satan City. While it was a bit corny, especially with all of his posing and posturing, something Krillian said he had picked up from Freiza's Ginyu Force, Bulma's watch had been ingenious. It held a change of clothes, Namely Gohan's Great Sayjaman costume. When he needed to don the clothes the watch would put a field of energy around the wearer and through encapsulation technology, remove the clothes being worn and replace with those in the storage. After seeing the invention one day in Bulma's lab, Lennex had asked for one himself.

At this particular moment he had his gi that he modeled after Goku's. It consisted of an under shirt and a pair of simple comfortable pants. Loose, but not excessive enough that the slack would slow him down or get in his way. Then there was an outer shirt that wrapped around the upper body leaving the arms bare and matching the pants. The ensemble was topped off with a belt around the waist, hiding the shirt seam meeting the pants, making it look as if it was all one piece; finally, two wrist bands and a pair of sturdy black fighting boots completed the outfit. The only difference to his and Goku's was that Goku's outer wear was orange with blue undershirt. His was a dark blue outer and black undershirt. Orange just wasn't his color.

He didn't want have to fall back on it though, at least not yet. After all, it was his fighting gear, and right now he couldn't really fight. He knew it was a lame excuse and one he would banish if it truly came down to using the spare set of clothes, but he would try to get some clothes in the village they almost entered last night. It would save his gi for a fight and also era-appropriate attire would help blend him in a little. Of course after last night's thievery, he would probably have to resort to a bit of thieving himself. Not really something he wanted to do, after all he was a security chief, but right now they were out of options. He wished he would have thought about it back at Kaede's. He was sure some of the villagers would have lent him clothing. But his idea had taken a hold on him so quickly and completely that in the excitement his personal appearance had not mattered at the time.

He was brought out of his thoughts as one of the rabbits was handed to him. He took it with a word of thanks to Shippo and bit into it. Some people might have been a bit squeamish with eating a freshly killed animal, or would have to work themselves up to eat something that still retained its basic shape, but after the field training under Piccolo's supervision, not to mention the course in survival he had taken when he was training for the security position, Lennex had no such qualms. That and his Sayjin appetite demanded he eat something now.

While Shippo had been right that the meal was not much, it was rather good. The little fox could cook. He commented on the fact and received an explanation.

"Kagome and Sango usually do the cooking, and I watch and learn. They have taught me a few things."

"Speaking of teaching, how many demons are around us right now?" Lennex asked.

He watched the fox concentrate but then rattle off the numbers and directions of every demon he sensed. While it still took him some time to find them, his accuracy was one hundred percent, and his time had cut down some. He was indeed a quick learner.

"Good job Shippo. Now let's go over some of your fox magic. Explain that top trick you did the other day."

After the explanation Lennex thought on it a bit. The way it worked according to Shippo was that he took an item and enchanted it with is demon power. Magic was just a term used loosely by his kind to make it sound more mysterious because most demon powers were a bit more destructive than the fox demon's. That's why they relied more on trickery and wits to get them out of a fight. Once the item was imbued with their power, it was easy to shape them and use them at will.

This pleased Lennex because to use the body's energy required great concentration and it looked as if the fox had that ability down. He had a hunch about the fox fire attack he had seen and pressed it to Shippo.

"That's right," the fox replied, "The fox fire is the ultimate personification of the fox demon's power of attack. Mine's not very strong because my dad had only begun to teach me how to use it."

Lennex nodded his head and stood up from the fire. To him, the fox fire attack almost sounded like firing an energy attack. He picked up a piece of wood and set it up about twenty feet away from their makeshift campsite. On the walk back to the fire he noticed he was walking stiffly. The impact of the tree the day before had messed up his back quite a bit. He hated feeling weak. Once he was next to Shippo he set aside thoughts of his own pain and explained how to focus the power of ki, or in this case, demon energy. After the short instructional session Shippo turned to face the piece of wood.

Instead of heaving back his arm and throwing the fox fire like a ball, he held his arm out straight, and tried to focus as Lennex had told him. He could feel the energy gather in his palm like normal. He tried to project the attack outwards. What happened wasn't quite what he was going for; the attack sprang forth just as it always did, but instead of flying towards the wood, it fell just a few feet from his outstretched hand, landing on the ground where it flickered briefly and died out.

"Try focusing the energy more tightly. Instead of a big ball of flame make it a smaller ball, but with just as much power," Lennex said from behind him.

Shippo tried as instructed and had slightly more success than the first try. Still though, it fell quite a ways short of the intended target. After a few more attempts fell short, Lennex called a halt.

"We're going to try something else right now. You have the basic idea on concentrating and shaping your energy, but we're lacking in the projection area. So instead of an attack, I want you to use your fox fire for defense," Lennex said. He then proceeded to explain to Shippo what to do.

"First, focus your energy like you do when energizing an object or using your fox fire. Center the energy in the center of your body. When you have that achieved press the energy out around. Not too far, but far enough to give yourself overall coverage by forming a shield of energy around your body. This will give you the ability to reflect attacks."

"Like Naraku's barriers and the sacred barriers Kaede and Miroku use, right?" Shippo asked. Lennex thought back to the Wind Scar attack that Naraku had deflected and nodded his head.

He continued on, "The other thing this is going to teach you is projection. Once you have the ability to shield yourself thoroughly, you should be able to use the control you've gained to throw an attack farther. I have some tricks that we're going use to improve your shielding. But for right now, practice just getting it a foot away from you and all around you."

Shippo nodded and Lennex felt the kit's energy swirl inside him, rising in power as he concentrated. He watched on for a few more moments, then turned towards the horse to get him ready for travel. The horse stared back a little forlornly at its rider. Lennex felt a bit sorry for the animal – while shelter had been sparse for Shippo and him, it was even less for the larger animal. He patted the animal's neck and promised him a nice big bag of oats and a good rubdown as soon as possible and went about securing the saddle and checking on the rest of their items to secure it.

While he was in one of the saddle bags the horse whinnied and backed up a bit. Lennex turned his attention to the animal's head and followed the gaze towards what had spooked it. He looked no further than Shippo. The kit was showing great promise, as he already had erected the shield. He could see the strain on the fox demon's face in keeping the field around him. What had spooked the horse however was the manifestation of the shield. Instead of just a spherical barrier, Shippo's was somewhat different. It was still spherical to an extent; the only contradiction to that statement was that the shield flickered like a fire. It looked as if the kit's body was surrounded by a raging blue fire. Lennex didn't know it, but he looked upon him just as Inuyasha had looked upon Shippo and Kagome back when Shippo's father had saved them from the thunder brothers.

After a few moments, the fire died and Shippo pitched forward a bit. The concentration on such a feat was strenuous on him, but Lennex knew that would get better with practice. He congratulated the kit on his quickly improved ability and together they finished picking up camp. Once the horse had been readied and their supplies repacked they put out the fire and went into town. They were met with some strange stares. A demon and a human dressed oddly would do that. They asked around, and eventually rode to a small shop that they had been told was the local seamstress and dismounted. They entered the establishment and after an hour of bartering food for clothing, Lennex walked out of the hut sporting new clothes. It was a simple garb much like Inuyasha's except the pants were a peasant brown and the top layer was a tan color.

As they rode out of town, the seamstress was left with the contents of one of the capsules that they carried with them, what she had considered a month's worth of food. Lennex considered it lunch. Upon thinking of the food his stomach growled and he shot a sheepish look towards Shippo. The rabbit really had not been enough for the Sayjin, but at the time, he didn't want to hurt Shippo's feelings about the size of the catch. They stopped for a brief brunch, brief in the fact that it took him fifteen minutes to eat two days' worth of food. After repacking once again they set off for the next village. Lennex wanted to reach it before nightfall and, if possible, barter once again, this time lodging for his 'future food' for a night. When they set out Lennex produced a flat stone he had picked up and handed it to Shippo.

He would have had the kit practice the shield while riding, but with the way the shield manifested, he was sure the horse wouldn't like that too much. So he had another tactic in mind.

"I want you to focus your energy like you did for the shield but instead of producing it all around you, I want you to use the energy to lift the rock and hold it in the air and balance it."

Shippo nodded and set to work. While he was able to get the shield to appear in a matter of minutes, lifting the rock took him longer to do. Almost an hour and a half the kit spent facing backwards on the horse, back against Lennex's, and stone in the palm of his hand. Finally, the blue energy slowly lifted the stone and held it aloft. Lennex congratulated the fox once again, and then nudged his shoulder. Of course the movement caused Shippo to lose focus and the rock fell. To his credit, he was able to catch it before it fell off the horse and gave Lennex a dirty look.

"Always keep your concentration, no matter the distraction. Sounds cheap now but it's sage advice. Keep on practicing."

That was how they rode for the rest of the day. Shippo sat levitating the rock with his own power and Lennex causing the horse to take unexpected turns and speed adjustments. He'd lean back in the saddle and nudge and bump Shippo at random intervals. The first few times the Kit dropped the rock again but after while he kept it steadily floating.

When they were stopped, he would practice the shield. During the day he focused on just getting the shield to last for more than just a short interval. Every now and then, Lennex would throw a rock at him and it would bounce of the shield. But the impact caused the demon to strain a bit more. All in all, Lennex was pleased at the progress. At dusk they arrived at the next village and as he had hoped, the food worked its magic again. Lennex didn't like losing the food, but right now a good night's rest, even after only two days of travel, was important. He could dry the bundled clothes that he still carried, giving him a spare, and a chance to sleep off the affects of the small fight. It also gave him a chance for a soak in the bath house, something that he had neglected to do since arriving in the past.

Shippo joined him and Lennex once again turned the relaxing soak into a training exercise. He told the fox what he wanted and after forty five minutes, the bath had several miniature whirlpools, courtesy of Shippo's energy. After the bath and a late dinner, that still had Shippo's jaw to the floor from watching the amount Lennex ate and how quickly it disappeared, the two warriors turned in for the night, readying themselves for the next day. Shippo needless to say, was out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Lennex, comfortable and dry, wasn't far behind.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

They awoke at first light, a customary habit when traveling with Inuyasha, and prepared breakfast right away. They wanted to get an early start today since their travel had been cut a little short due to Kagura's interference yesterday. They had stopped somewhere in the middle of the forest and rested for the night. Inuyasha took watch for most of the night, but Miroku had relieved him a few hours before day break. Being half demon, Inuyasha didn't need that much sleep, but the few hours were nice and the human half of him appreciated those hours. They ate when breakfast was ready and planned out the day ahead of them.

"The jewel shard is definitely in the direction of the village," Kagome said around a mouthful of a simple porridge they had taken from the village before they left. "Something else is strange though; I'm starting to pick up another shard. But I don't think it's from any of the other villages."

The others pondered this while they ate. Finally, Sango spoke up. "It is true most of the shards are accounted for, but that doesn't mean we don't still have a few random demons out there. And if it's a single shard…" She left the rest unfinished. Most of the time when Kagome had sensed a single shard, it usually meant her enslaved brother was near, carrying out some despicable act for Naraku.

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it, as the old saying goes. But if it is on the way to the village we definitely need to check it out. The only thing worse than this Kalin getting his hands on more shards, is a random demon with the power of a jewel shard," Miroku said while setting down his empty bowl.

The others nodded his head at the monk's words, though Sango with a bit more of an appreciative look on her face than the others. Kagome caught the look and hid a smile from her friends. She knew the two felt strongly for each other and was always happy to see it physically show itself. She nudged Inuyasha, who sat beside her and nodded towards the two. They had both started talking in low voices to each other but their eyes never unlocked from the others gaze. Inuyasha sent a questioning look towards Kagome and spoke.

"This is another one of your silly woman things, isn't it?" he said with all the seriousness of an honest question. Of course this wasn't the response Kagome had hoped for and stood in a slightly miffed huff, grabbing the empty breakfast dishes and going off to clean them, all the while muttering about a clueless half demon. Inuyasha watched her movements, the look on his face clearly stating that he expected to eat dirt at any moment. When the sit command never came he looked over and Sango and Miroku, to see that instead of each other, they now stared at him with inquisitive, yet mischievous gazes. Under their scrutiny the half demon decided it best not to press his luck and moved to help Kagome with the cleanup. "Let me give you a hand with those, Kagome."

The other two smiled at each other once again and made ready to leave camp. Inuyasha and a now pacified Kagome walked out in front following the path in the forest, Sango and Miroku walking a bit behind them far enough that they could hold their own conversations but still not have to shout if they wanted to talk to the other half of the party. Kirara, in her small kitten form, rode on her customary perch of Sango's shoulder. They talked of nothing really of consequence. While they had been together for a while now, they still had not run out of stories from their younger days.

They walked straight on until lunch and stopped in a small clearing off the road, rationing out some of the food once again from Lennex's capsule. Many paths through the forest converged along their route; unremarkable trails cut by those seeking a shortcut. After the short rest they continued on the main trader's and traveler's roadway. They only passed a few of these on the road, but whenever they did they received information that just before the town was an unusually strong demon attacking those foolish enough to wander into the forest.

At least this now confirmed what was ahead of them. The news both saddened and relieved Sango. Sad because a chance run in with her brother would not happen; happy for the same reason. It pained her to see him under Naraku's control and many times wanted to free her brother, releasing his soul in death. Her friends had stopped her though, many times promising that they would get him back alive and well.

After another couple hours of travel, they encountered the demon, and just as Kagome had said it did possess a shard. Still, against Inuyasha, its power paled in comparison. And he was backed up by the rest. It fell quickly and Kagome retrieved the shard, purifying it with just a touch, and placed it in a new jar, since she had left the one with her own shards with Kaede. A risky decision, but one they felt was the lesser of two evils. They didn't want Kalin taking those shards; it was bad enough he had a chance to claim the shards Naraku had hidden.

After the short confrontation, they continued walking. When they neared the village, they knew from the smoke and screaming that Kalin had arrived before them. Kirara changed back into her larger form and Sango and Miroku quickly mounted and took off into the air for the village. Kagome jumped on Inuyasha's back and he carried her piggy back style. Both groups raced along side by side as they hurriedly entered the village.

The party headed towards the center of the village on the road they had been following, and soon encountered fleeing villagers, terror written on their faces. Inuyasha and company pressed on, converging on the town center, where they found Kalin demanding the shard be brought to him or the village would be destroyed.

"Keh, fat chance of that happening." Inuyasha shouted, coming to a stop and letting Kagome down off his back. He pulled the Tetsusaiga from its resting place and faced down Kalin. Kagome, taking up a defensive position to the side and behind him, knocked an arrow as Kirara touched down next to them, her riders both dismounting and taking up positions facing Kalin. He sneered at them and spoke.

"Do not interfere in my business if you want to keep your lives."

Inuyasha shook his head and retorted. "You're just like all the other windbags. All talk and no action." On the last word Inuyasha jumped into the air towards Kalin, bringing his sword down in an overhand strike. The blade impacted into the ground as Kalin easily side stepped it; the blade bit deep into the ground. Kalin stood to Inuyasha's right and held his hand out towards the half demon, energy swirling in his palm.

"Die."

Inuyasha had seen Kalin kill that villager with this kind of attack – a yank on the Tetsusaiga proved it to be stuck in the ground. In a lightning quick decision Inuyasha abandoned the sword and spun quickly lashing out with a left hook. The move took Kalin by surprise, the blow throwing the man back, his energy attack dissipating as his concentration was broken. Apparently Lennex had been right, his power wasn't that much greater then a demons.

Kalin quickly picked himself up off the ground and charged Inuyasha. In a flurry of moves he threw blows at the half demon almost quicker than Inuyasha could block. Inuyasha, seasoned by the wolf demon, Kouga's shard-induced-lightning-quick attacks, took the punches and kicks and waited for an opening, finally lashing out and connecting. The two fighters separated and glared at each other. Inuyasha was strong and fast, but his fighting style was wild and had no set pattern. His erratic style was both an advantage and disadvantage to Kalin's martial arts experience. While he could plan his moves to flow one into another, the Inuyasha's wildness allowed him to get a strike in and due to his strength, it hurt Kalin even in his energized state. It was time to take it to his max.

Kalin charged his power, raising it as high as it could go, and aura of flickering power surrounded him and he moved in. Inuyasha was hard pressed to keep up a defense.

"We have to help him," Sango said, hefting her weapon.

Miroku nodded his head in agreement. He looked to Kagome. "We'll help Inuyasha, you find the shard."

She nodded her agreement and felt for the shard and ran towards it while the other two ran towards Kalin. He saw them coming and deftly performed a reverse spin kick, nailing Inuyasha in the chest and throwing him up and away from the battle. He had just enough time to dodge the incoming Hiraikotsu, which Sango was now wielding as a melee weapon. The girl was strong, Kalin observed, noticing how she wielded the large weapon with ease. He noticed from her movements that her fighting ability was more like his own, a style with some control and form. The monk wasn't far behind as he used his staff like a Bo staff, always punctuating attacks with the razor edge at the top. He dodged back and forth between the two, evading their attacks with his greater speed. When the Hiraikotsu missed him and impacted the ground he kicked out at it, throwing the demon slayer of balance; he was now free to concentrate on the monk. He saw the razor-edged staff head coming in a downward stroke and he raised his arm to block, flowing energy into his forearm to handle the blow.

Miroku was shocked when the staff halted and didn't pierce the fighters flesh. Kalin cleared the weapon away and punched Miroku in the face, knocking the young man back. Then the demon exterminator's pet was upon him. It rose up on its hind legs like a lion and tried to impale him with her claws and teeth. He caught the cat's forward legs in mid strike and kicked Kirara in the stomach. The cat let out a whine, but Kalin wasn't done, he quickly uppercut the cat just below the jaw. The blow was enough to knock the cat up and flip it backwards. When it hit the ground it reverted back to its kitten form, curled in a fetal position. He realized he didn't deal with the monk and demon cat quickly enough as he felt a solid punch hit him in the kidney. Sango had abandoned her weapon and struck from his side. She was angry at her companion's treatment and the power of the blow relayed that. The punch was followed by a right hook that connected and once more followed by a knee to his midsection. It doubled him over and allowed Sango to strike him with an elbow to the neck sending the fighter to the ground. She was good but he was stronger and better. When he hit the ground he spun his body and kicked out, catching the girl's leg and sending her sprawling. He quickly stood and went to press his attack when the monk joined back in the fray.

The monk kicked out and caught him in the side with the simple attack. While he was energized it took a lot to hurt him, but he was finding that these two were stronger than normal humans. They would have made great additions as students, he thought in a brief moment before the maddening urge to destroy them rushed back into his mind. He blocked their attacks simultaneously and lashed out knocking them both to the ground.

Before he could press the advantage a red clad form dropped back in front of him and struck him across the face. This blow he felt more than the others and knew that the half demon was back in the fight. The three friends closed in on Kalin and attacked in unison. His jewel shard enhanced power and years of intense training were the only thing that kept him even with them.

All this time, Kagome had gotten closer to the prize. Her sixth sense that tracked tracking the fragments of the jewel led her to a hut close to the combat zone. She quickly entered and found the place abandoned. She walked over to a simple shelf and then focused on a vase. She reached her hand into the vase and pulled out the shard. At first it was a murky purplish black, but in Kagome's purifying hand it turned into a brilliant pink. Clutching the shard, she quickly went back to the others.

As soon as she had purified the jewel, something flickered in Kalin's mind. He didn't know it but it was Naraku feeding him information in the form of emotions and impulses. These impulses made him focus his gaze on the young girl in the green dress who was approaching the fight. The emotions said she had the shard. Before the others knew what was happening, Kalin had disappeared from their midst and appeared by Kagome. She quickly skidded to a stop and let out a startled shout. It was all that was needed to spring Inuyasha into action.

"Get away from her!" he yelled, rushing the man as Kalin was reaching for Kagome. He could see the shard in her hand. Then Inuyasha was there, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. This time, however, Kalin was more focused and lashed out. The power of the strike threw Inuyasha through a hut, leaving a half demon sized hole in the side of the structure. He turned back to Kagome and grabbed her wrist. His grip was like a vise and she found herself dropping the shard to the ground. She tried striking at him with her legs and other arm but it was like hitting a brick wall. Then Sango was there fighting for all she was worth. Kalin held his ground but managed to dodge all the attacks. He grabbed one of Sango's arms in mid attack and yanked the girl towards him. Thrown off balance, she had no choice but to follow her arm. When she was close enough, Kalin backhanded her knocking her to the ground. He turned his eyes back towards the shard, which Kagome was reaching for on her hands and knees on the ground. He brought his leg back to kick her away when an enraged monk brought his staff down in front of his face and to his neck. The monk held on to opposite ends of the staff and pulled back, bringing the shaft flush with his throat. Releasing Kagome, Kalin grabbed at the offending object, trying to pull it away to breathe. The monk held fast, angry that Sango had been struck so violently. The demon slayer had not regained her feet, still stunned from the attack.

Kagome stood from her kneeled position, shard in hand, still directly in front of Kalin. He saw the recaptured shard and went to option number two. He bowed his head as much as he could over the staff and then whipped his head back, impacting the back of his skull into the monk's surprised face. The blood poured forth from Miroku's nose as he let go of the staff and brought his hands to his face, staggering back.

As Kagome turned to make a getaway, in a move almost too quick to follow, Kalin reached forward and grabbed her arm, simultaneously kicking out behind him sending the monk to his back. He twisted Kagome's arm and held his free hand under hers, applying enough pressure to make her drop the shard into his awaiting grasp.

"This belongs to me, girl. And as you have seen, nothing will stop me from obtaining it." He threw her hand away and lashed out, sending her to the ground once more. He held his hand out to her in an open palm gesture and was ready to release a ki blast.

"Kagome!" the yell rang out and Kalin looked up to see the half demon at the apex of a jump coming down straight for him. He had recovered from the trip into the hut and now had his sword once more. Kalin jumped out of the way of the attack but this time Inuyasha didn't hit the ground, anticipating the aversion. Instead he swung the sword out in a sweep. Kalin saw it coming and back peddled, but not quickly enough as the tip of the blade sliced into his chest. It wasn't a deep cut, but it did tear into his flesh enough for blood to pour. Inuyasha brought the sword back to ready position, standing in front of Kagome. He then brought the sword down in the Wind Scar attack, the energy lancing forth. Kalin for his part erected a hasty energy shield. It held off the attack for a moment, killing off some of the energy, but finally was overpowered. Kalin was strong enough to withstand the vast energy blast to the point that it didn't pierce his skin, but it did throw him back. The power of it felt as though a thousand punches had been thrown at him at once.

Still, He clutched the shard fragment and that was all that mattered to him. He stood up and glared at the half demon. He then noticed the demon slayer come even with Inuyasha, her giant weapon in hand. The monk also held his staff with one hand, and his nose with the other. The girl in the green skirt also stared him down, an arrow pointed at him. He probably could have defeated them, but the logical side of his mind took over. He had what he came for and he was wounded. Better to cut out now and continue the search for the rest of the shards. He was sure he could finish them later.

Wordlessly, he quickly rose in the air and took off. The group stood wearily on the ground and watched him leave. They checked each other out for injuries. Sango replied only having a few bumps and bruises, the same as Kagome. Miroku assured them that his nose was bloodied and very, very sore, but not broken. Sango knelt to pick up Kirara. The motion roused the cat as she mewed quietly. Sango was relieved that Kirara was alright. Inuyasha claimed to have no injury and stared at the darkening sky in which Kalin had flown off to. He sheathed the Tetsusaiga and looked around at the village. There were some buildings that had been destroyed, but the village was almost entirely intact. The people of the village came out to thank them from where they were hiding, and the innkeepers quickly ushered them to their inn to rest and get cleaned up in thanks. The weary fighters only put up a token resistance.

While the village had been saved, they still felt it as a defeat that they lost the shard. They ate in silence when food was brought to them, and Kagome dutifully wrapped and bandaged injuries. Inuyasha propped himself against the door as a silent guard and bid the rest of them to get some sleep. While it was still early in the night, he knew they all needed it. The girls offered no resistance and quickly got into the beds, not even bothering to put up the border to separate them from the boys. Inuyasha knew that fatigue and injury really ran deep when the monk didn't take any kind of advantage of the situation and quickly fell asleep himself.

Inuyasha gripped his sword in sheath tightly, glad his friends were ok, but mad as hell that Kalin had roughed them up like he did. Next time would be different, he promised himself as he closed his eye, falling into a light sleep.


	8. Why is it Trouble Only Knows Your Name?

**Chapter 8: Why is it Trouble Only Knows Your Name**

When they awoke the next morning, it wasn't without the stiffness of a rough exercise and injury. Kagome rechecked bandages and changed those that needed to be changed. Miroku's nose looked alright, even though the monk complained about it throbbing and feeling twice its normal size. They stepped out of the room they had shared and made their way to the main room of the inn. They took in a small breakfast and bid the owners goodbye and a very grateful thanks for the shelter they had received.

Upon a unanimous agreement, the group decided to help the village repair what had been destroyed. While the delay would let Kalin ahead of them, they couldn't let these people suffer when it was within their power to help. Inuyasha and Miroku went to assist the men in rebuilding the damaged structures, while Kagome and Sango went to check on the injured and to see if they could help with anything else. They reassured the boys that they could help just as much with reconstruction as they could, but the injured came first. Inuyasha agreed, for he knew that Kagome's knowledge of healing was greater than most of the villagers' and her items from the future would definitely make a difference.

The sun continued on its arc through the sky while the four companions helped where they could. Kagome and Sango made quick work of the injured, grateful that during last nights conflict there had been very few injuries and only a few fatalities. When they had finished up with the hurt, they joined the boys for some manual labor. While most of the huts that were damaged required mostly patching and reroofing, there were two that were destroyed and of course, had to be rebuilt completely. The first thing they had to do was clear the rubble out of the way to rebuild which, after the owners of the demolished huts had declared the sites clean of any valuables, Miroku made quick work of the clean up with his wind tunnel.

After everything had been sucked into oblivion, they started laying the framework for the hut. Kagome helped where she could, but an architect she was not. She could, however, hit a nail on the head, and dutifully went to work on joining wood boards and planks together for the foundation. Sango and Miroku helped in setting the walls, while Inuyasha kept a steady supply of building materials on hand for them to work with. The sun was just entering its afternoon course when they had finished. The rebuilding lifted theirs and the village's spirits and they took a celebratory lunch with the people.

With renewed spirits, the travelers left the village on a full stomach and continued on their journey. They each silently hoped they wouldn't have to make a repeat performance at the next village they came to.

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They awoke at first light that day, refreshed from the bath and well rested from the shelter of the room. They took in a quick breakfast, at least "quick" by Lennex standards, but Shippo was sure that the words quick and food were always hand in hand when it came to Lennex. The kit made the comment that watching Lennex eat was like watching Miroku use his wind tunnel. They left the village and, after checking the map to make sure they were on the correct course, started off. Like the previous day, this day saw Shippo levitating the rock while riding. This time however, Lennex had given him two rocks of different sizes and weights. The trick now was to keep them at equal heights. They would need different amounts of energy because of the differences in size, but that was the point; being able to concentrate your ki in different ways at the same time. This activity was not very easy, the fox soon found out. It took him all morning to grasp this concept. When they came to a stop for the midday meal, Shippo had finally got the stones to maintain a relatively even level, but the strain on his face made evident this exercise was much harder than the previous exercises. Lennex told him to stop that for now and resume his shield training. Lennex prepared a small lunch, small for even him. Shippo brought the shield around himself and while Lennex ate, he threw more rocks at the shield. After practice, Shippo was able to deflect the hits to his shield without using as much energy as before.

He was able to feel the impacts in the shield and adjust accordingly, and each time he responded faster than the last. After Lennex had finished eating, he told Shippo to come eat his lunch. The kit accepted immediately and, letting down the energy shield, commenced to chow down. Lennex checked the horse and then proceeded to do some exercise himself. He may not be able to access his energy, but he could still keep his body in shape. Luckily, it had only been a few years since his transformation, and the once-obsolete katas he learned as a human were suddenly back in style.

Shippo curiously watched his new friend while he ate. At the start, he seemed a little clumsy going through the moves of his exercise. But after awhile he started flowing from one stance to another. It was cool to watch and Shippo was mesmerized. He knew Sango and Miroku had some training in fighting, Sango more so than Miroku, and Inuyasha just used brute power and dumb luck in his fighting, but this…this was something else. He knew of martial artists in the world, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone with this much skill.

Lennex relished the feeling as his body started to loosen up. The fatigue that had hindered him the entire time in the past eased a bit as he worked through his kata. He tried to raise his power slowly but hit that same wall and stopped immediately. He didn't want to drain himself so soon after feeling this well.

Shippo quickly finished his food and went back to his own training. He gave himself room away from Lennex so as not to interrupt him. The two friends continued to train themselves for a few more hours before continuing on their own quest.

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Miles from the next village, Inuyasha and company ran into a new development. Soon after leaving the first village, they had skirmished with a few inconsequential demons, nothing new or unusual; shortly thereafter, however, they met with a caravan of humans. They quickly discovered that this group was from a village a few ri to the east of the village they were heading too. A village that was now destroyed. As far as the people they talked to knew, they were the only ones left.

Kagome closed her eyes, partly in grief over all the lost lives, and partly to sense the jewel shards. She had picked up on a few shards during the journey and sure enough, there was one that was not where it originally was. It was fainter to her senses, which means it was farther away. Wherever Kalin went after obtaining his new jewel shard was unknown, but she was sure that the closer they got to it, the better she would be able to feel it and him. She wished she had more of a range on her jewel sense. Then she would be able to detect the shards instead of having to guess which village to go to next. Now they had one less choice to choose from.

"As unwise as it is, were going to have to split up I think." Miroku commented after the living train of people were out of sight. "With his ability to fly, he can travel over the forests from village to village, taking half the time we do even at our quickest pace."

"The only problem with that is Kagome is the only one who can detect the shards," Inuyasha replied. "If you were to go to the village you would have to search it entirely to find the shard."

Miroku nodded his head. That point also crossed his mind but in his mind, they had very little choice.

"Wait a minute guys," Kagome said. She still had her eyes closed but was facing off in the distance. "I feel a shard of the jewel. It's moving, but not very fast. I also sense a stationary jewel. It has to be the village."

"Could there be another demon out there with a shard?" Sango asked

"I suppose it could be. We really have no idea how many shards there are. Even though Naraku says he has a nearly completed jewel, doesn't mean he missed a few himself."

"But this brings us back to my earlier statement. Do we go after the shard in the village or this mystery shard?" Miroku asked.

The group was silent for a few minutes. Inuyasha was the first to speak.

"Well, we can't let Kalin get ahead of us, but we can't let this shard get away either. I think you're right, monk; we're going to have to split. The village is still half a day's travel, how far is this other shard, Kagome?"

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, a sour look on her face. "How many times to I have to tell you my detection ability doesn't come with a range finder." She received a blank stare in return and sighed. "I can't actually judge distance. I can tell it's closer than the other shard though."

"Fine, you and I will go after it. You two continue on to the village. See if you can find the shard and then try to get back to us. Don't take Kalin on by yourselves. We need to do it together." Inuyasha stated.

"Since when does the mighty half demon need human help?" Miroku goaded Inuyasha with a teasing smile.

Inuyasha grinned back at his friend and said, "I don't need the help, but you guys will need mine."

Miroku raised his eyebrows in surprise. "A joke Inuyasha?"

"Keh, all I'm stating is fact."

The girls chose this point to separate the boys. They new the jokes were harmless, but if left to their own devices they could argue all day. Miroku and Sango climbed on Kirara's back and the cat leapt into the sky heading towards the village.

"Come on Kagome, let's get this other shard and regroup as fast as we can. I meant what I said, they might be able to hold of Kalin for a while, but I don't think they can defeat him without my help."

"Our help you mean?" Kagome said as she jumped onto Inuyasha's back. He grabbed the underside of her thighs to hold her into position as she wrapped her arms around his neck. An embrace more familiar than any other for the two as this was a normal riding arrangement.

"Ya right Kagome, you know you always get into trouble and then I have to bail you out of it." While the words were gruff and others might have taken offence, Kagome knew they were in jest. At one time Inuyasha may have meant the words, but he knew Kagome's value in battle now. Still, she did have to remain in character.

"You know if I wasn't being carried by you, you'd so be eating grass right now."

Inuyasha chuckled as he started to run, eating up distance faster then any human.

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And the day had started out so well. They had continued their journey without a problem. Shippo was progressing well, and Lennex thought that tonight he would introduce a new factor into his shield training. That was until they had passed into a small village not on Miroku's map. They thought about getting a bite to eat, something they didn't have to cook for themselves, and walked into the beef house that they had first come to. The smells coming from inside watered their mouths and their stomachs took over their bodily motions and walked them inside in place of their brains.

They sat down, a very pretty girl taking their orders and pinching Shippo's cheek, telling him how cute he was and walked away. This action of course brought flames to the young demons face. Lennex thought to himself that the kid really needed to learn the ways of women, but he was already training him in his art. He would let Miroku take over that part of Shippo's education. They drank the tea left by the waitress and looked around. It was a quiet little place. It was not quite full, but the dinner crowd had definitely begun to arrive. The two travelers made small talk, a little too hungry, and too tired to really talk about anything of consequence. That's when the trouble started. Through the reed mat across the door came five individuals; they ranged from late teens to mid twenties, and they carried themselves like they owned the place.

By the reaction from the patrons and staff, it looked like they really did own it. Guests averted their eyes, and the girls working the place bowed and cowered to them. Lennex, however, did not avert his eyes. It just wasn't in his makeup to cower. Of course the group noticed and made their way to the table they were seated at. Shippo noticed the attention they were being paid and looked to Lennex. He received and eyebrow waggle from Lennex and sighed to himself. Just like Inuyasha, trouble followed everywhere they went.

"You seem to be sitting at our table stranger. You need to move." The lead thug said, placing his hands on the table and peering down into Lennex's face. His group fanned out behind him. Lennex looked from the leader to the rest of the group, to Shippo and then back.

"You did not just say that. 'You're sitting at our table.' They say that kind of garbage in the movies, not in real life." He heard whispers from the thugs questioning about what a movie was, but the reaction on the leader's face was what he was going for – it now matched Shippo's earlier reaction, but for a very different reason.

"Looks like we got a joker here, boys… I think it's time we teach him why the Koji gang is feared in this town."

In hindsight, Lennex realized that he was thinking with his hero complex again. He hated seeing people bow before those with power. Especially those that didn't deserve the recognition of power they got. They were scum. A street gang not worthy of the fear they inspired. And like the heroes in the aforementioned movies he had brought up, it was time to show them that. It would have been nice however, if he could have accessed his power to do it.

The lead thug acted quicker than Lennex had anticipated, that or he was counting on his reflexes to be quicker than they were. Either way, the tea that he had been drinking had been snatched and thrown in his face. Luckily, the liquid had been sitting awhile and was not as hot as had once been, but it did blind him. The next thing he knew he was being hauled out of his chair and a fist impacted his gut, doubling him over. He heard people cry out at the sudden burst of violence and the sounds of furniture being overturned due to people getting out of the way.

He heard Shippo cry out and knew that the kit had entered the fight. He'd have to take care of himself though. He was thrown forward while still bent over and crashed to the ground, impacting a table as he went. The tea on that table was a lot hotter than the stuff in his eyes, but lack of sight was a much more serious problem than minor scalding. He rubbed at his eyes furiously, regaining his sight in time to see two of the thugs reaching for him. They brought him to his feet and he came face to face with the leader.

"What have we learned so far?" the lead thug asked. Lennex smiled and shot his foot out, connecting with the thugs chin, throwing him back. When he brought his foot back he kicked it into the guy on his left's knee. The shock made him let his prey turned hunter go. With his free left arm, he jammed his palm into the right most thug's nose with an open handed strike. The one on his left had regained his composure and the other two guys flanked him. The one on the ground currently held his nose and rolled in pain. The leader had gotten up and came to stand with the rest of his guys. Lennex noticed that the two new guys he had not tangled with yet were sporting burns on their faces and clothing.

He looked quickly around the beef house and located Shippo. He was up against one of the walls, head to the floor and feet hanging above his head. His eyes were glassy and Lennex knew the kit was stunned. The leader noticed his eyes looking at the kit and spoke.

"Your little demon tried to put up a struggle. Too bad he can't fight. We don't like demons in our town, so once you're dead; He will follow you to Hell."

Lennex assumed a stance. Like earlier in the day, he thought again that while he may not have the ability to tap his real strength, he wasn't a slouch in the fighting department when he was human, and while he had the power of a human, he was still technically Sayjin. The two with the burns rushed him and he charged right back. He made the way to the right leaping into the air. He planted his foot into the thug's chest and using his momentum pushed off the thug, sending the thug backwards. When he pushed off he twirled and nailed the guy on the left, who, taken by surprise by his partner's quick takedown, was to slow to stop his own forward charge and received a heel to the face.

The two down, Lennex looked up to the next two opponents. Unfortunately the man he kicked in the knee earlier speared him, sending them both to the floor. Lennex over powered the man, rolling on top of the guy and sending a fist into this face. Blood sprayed out from his nose and he watched the man's eyes roll to the back of his head. Lennex smiled smugly at the little win and turned back toward the leader.

The leader once again was faster than anticipated. Lennex looked right up into a kick. He was fast enough to roll with the blow, minimizing the damage. The leader was quickly above him and Lennex watched him produce a knife from the folds of his clothes. Lennex really regretted leaving his sword hidden under the saddle bags and blanket of the horse. He'd have to act quickly, there was no way he'd avoid the knife, but he could put the injury somewhere non life-threatening.

He somersaulted backwards putting space between him and the leader and used the roll to bring him back to his feet, he saw the knife coming straight for his chest and twisted out of the way. The blade thrust still managed to connect with his arm, leaving a long gash.

Blood dripped from his arm and Lennex presented his uninjured side to the man. He charged again and this time Lennex took an offense movement trying to block the strike and disarm the thug. Unfortunately, the thug had a lot of experience in a knife fight and avoided the strike and slashed, opening up a wound above Lennex's kidneys. Lennex cried out in pain and went down to one knee. This wasn't going well. If he made it back to the future he planned to bring up a new training regimen to Vegeta, something to help them cope in case they lost the ability to channel their energy.

The leader had a grin on his face as he came in for the kill.

"FOX FIRE" Once again Lennex found himself being saved by the azure blaze that was Shippo's signature attack. This time however the blast had more power, more energy behind it. When it hit the thug it lifted him up, throwing him back and incinerating his clothing. When he impacted against the wall, the only thing left were rags, keeping him somewhat modestly clothed.

Lennex could already see the burns blistering on the man's chest. The rest of the thugs who were still able to fight quickly turned to the source.

Shippo stood in the center of the room hand outstretched and a look of surprise on his face.

The kit quickly masked his face and looked at the rest of the thugs.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave. I don't like people that rough up my human servants. And if you continue I'll do worse to you than what I did to him." The kit pointed to the burned and unconscious man and to punctuate his point his palm blazed fire.

"And one other thing, if you do anything to this village anymore, I'll know about it, and I'll return. I am a demon, and I will…know." At this point in the speech Shippo produced his shield. While not an offensive attack, it did envelope his body in a fiery orb. The thugs still standing quickly gathered their injured and took off as fast as they could. Shippo powered down and ran to Lennex.

"You ok?" he asked.

Lennex nodded and gave the kit a grin. "Human servant?"

"Well you are only a human and I am a demon, it's only natural," he replied with a laugh. Lennex joined the laughter and quickly stopped and grabbed his side in pain. The staff came over, and though not happy about the damage to their business, they were grateful for the Koji gang being put in their place. Two of the servant girls knelt beside Lennex and started to take care of his wounds.

The night had not turned out too bad after all.

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While they had flown through the air on Kirara's back, they didn't talk much. Both knew that they were walking into a potentially deadly confrontation. They were used to it by now, but this time they fought an opponent that was decidedly different from any demon, Naraku included, they had faced before. Sango rode in front, the Hiraikotsu strung across her back and angled so it didn't block her if she turned around to talk to Miroku, should she choose to. He was riding right behind her, his staff nestled between their bodies while his arms were around her waist to keep from falling off. A lot of the times when they rode this way, his hand would roam.

She found herself sometimes allowing the exploration, as long as it wasn't too lecherous. This surprised her the first time. She knew Miroku had confessed his love, and that they did have an arrangement after Naraku was dead, but a lot of the times she though it was just another of his quirks. Like his infamous 'would you bare my child?' question.

However, she never saw Miroku put as much feeling into his gazes and words to other women as he did to her. He was a shameless flirt, and liked to stay in character, but she was starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, Miroku was a one woman man after all. This trip, however, was more serious than their jewel hunts or demon exterminations they normally went on. She knew that he knew it because his hands had not moved once. She found herself missing the affectionate touches, but like him, she would remain all business.

She may have thought about their relationship more had the black columns of smoke from the horizon not caught her attention. She squeezed her thighs into Kirara's sides, and the demon cat increased its speed, understanding her friend's urgency. She felt Miroku's hands tighten, whether in safety from the increased speed, or from what they would find in the village, she would never know.

As they grew closer to the village, they could tell from the silence that the battle was over. Kalin had beaten them again. Kirara touched down on the out skirts of the village and the riders dismounted. Miroku clutched his staff and raised his hand in a prayer gesture. Sango took a few steps forward and stared at the destruction, Tears silently running down her face.

The village was in ruins; what huts that were not on fire had either already burned down or had been demolished. Ruts and craters littered the ground from the energy blasts they were quickly becoming accustomed to. Weapons were also scattered about the ground, some broken, some intact but none bore any sign that they were successful in the purpose for which they were created.

And the items that brought the most misery to both monk and exterminator were the bodies. Men, women, children of all ages were strewn about. All dead, for Kalin had spared no one. All for a single shard of the Shikon Jewel. Sango bowed her head as Miroku walked up behind her, resting his hand at the small of her back. Sango thought of herself as fiercely independent. Something uncommon to the women of her day, but Kagome assured her that she would fit right in with her people. But this travesty was something she didn't want to deal with alone, and at Miroku's touch she turned her body to cradle in his.

"I know we have seen many things on our journey, but every time I see something like this, I see my village." She said to Miroku. The demon exterminators were all but wiped out by a mob of demons that attacked while their most experienced exterminators were away. Another deed that found its roots buried in Naraku.

"But had it not been for all of you burying the dead and giving them peace, I would have come home to sight like this. Oh Miroku, why does he do this? Why do acts like this give him such pleasure?"

Miroku knew that she was referring to Naraku, just as she was seeing this village and her own overlapping and had no answer for her. He knew she wasn't expecting one. He hugged her gently and then stepped away.

"We will add this to the growing list of crimes Naraku has to pay for. And believe me my dear Sango; we will make him answer before our lives are done. For now though, let us give these people the rest they deserve."

The two entered the village, followed by Kirara and set to work the mournful work of laying the dead to rest. Hours had gone by and soon they were joined by Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha's fists clenched so hard at the massacre that he drew blood, which spattered in the dust at his feet. Kagome, like Sango, cried for the fallen, but both set to work along side their friends. The only good thing to report was that they had easily dispatched the demon and retrieved the shard.

They worked quickly and efficiently. Wanting to get the job done as fast as they could. The journey was tiring what with random demon encounters, jewel shards and the race that they were currently losing. But they all silently made a vow that they would move faster to keep it from happening again. They would travel a bit more after they finished the burial detail. They would gain ground on Kalin and stop him, any way they could.

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Somewhere far away from burning villages and civilization, stood a castle. What was different from this castle was that there was no bustle of activity. No staff, no guards, no humans. Inside one of the main rooms stood a young girl, a mere child at first glance, garbed all in white. Her hair, its tone matching that of her garments, framed her pale face as she stood in silence. In her hands she held a mirror or mystical power. One of its powers was being used at this time. It showed four travelers digging graves and filling them in after they were filled. Their movements showed fatigue, but their faces relayed their resolve. A man stood in front of the girl in white and watched this image intently. A grin on his face that would make the inhabitants of Hell cower in its wake. He watched as one of the four, the one in a green skirt, stumbled a bit as she moved away dirt from a new grave. The one in red came to her aid but was dismissed. They continued on with their activity. The man laughed at the images he was seeing. His laughter echoed off the empty halls of his temporary home. The girl in white never changed the expression on her face; she only did what was asked of her to make her master happy.

And at this very moment, Kanna knew Naraku was extremely happy.


	9. Evening the Score

**Chapter 9: Evening the Score**

Inuyasha awoke at first light and gazed at the ruins of the village. He and Kagome had arrived late last night to observe Miroku and Sango burying the dead. The village was all but non existent now and they had quickly joined in to help. It had taken them some time but they had put the dead to rest, and thanks to Kagome's quick eye, they locataed a structure that was still suitable for a nights stay. They had bedded down and quickly let sleep come over them.

Now, as the sun crested the horizon, Inuyasha reflected on the journey so far. Three Villages had been attacked. Two were destroyed. One they had saved but lost the shard. From the maps they had found in the ruins, they had three more villages left in the area. Kagome, Upon entering the ruins of this village had felt faint traces of five shards. They had all come to an agreement after studying the maps, that the villages were the source of shards. The other two had to be more minor demons that had come across the shards in the initial shattering.

The others woke soon after Inuyasha. Kagome muttered a sleepy greeting to the silent half demon and quickly started to prepare a light breakfast. Miroku and Sango quickly made ready to depart, and the four ate in silence after Kagome had finished the meal. With breakfast done, they left the dead village and started for the next. The map showed a lone village in a slight south easterly course from their currant position. The other two villages were west from that one, and only a day's travel between them. The tough decision was made last night during the burial detail.

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"We can't let this happen again. No more should have to die like this." Sango said as she finished placing a marker on a grave. They only had a few more to do and the grizzly work would be behind them, but unfortunately not forgotten.

"I agree my dear Sango," Miroku said from behind her. He was currently engrossed in a few pieces of parchment that had the area mapped out on them. "And if I may be so bold I have to bring up a choice. It saddens me to bring this up however; I want you all to know that."

The serious tone in the otherwise laid back monk stopped the other three in their current tasks so that they could listen without distraction. He brought the maps over to them and pointed at the villages marked.

"We have these three villages in the area. From what Kagome has said, there are five shards in her sensory range. Might we assume that these villages are the current locations of three of them? The other two may be random demons, or a village that isn't marked. However if what we see here is correct, we should head towards these two villages."

"What makes you say that monk?" Inuyasha asked, after seeing the maps, he had gone back to filling in a grave.

"My reasoning is this. These two villages are close to each other. We could easily secure two jewel shards in short time. However, if Kalin doesn't decide the same thing, we could be sacrificing this third village."

The statement stopped the half demon for a moment. Two for the price of one. It was a heavy decision.

"We can't just let that village die like this one." Sango said, Kagome nodding her agreement.

"I understand that, but we have to think of how we can stop him. He is already growing stronger. Much more and we may not be able to handle him. If we can take two shards away, instead of going for one and letting him get ahead of us, it might tip the scales in our favor."

"And our win could come at the cost of this solitary village's existence." Kagome said. "Can we make that kind of choice?"

"We can't. We have to try and get to wherever Kalin will go. Were close enough now, maybe Kagome can sense the shards he has and we can cut him off?" Sango said.

"Miroku is right."

The quiet statement turned the three sets of human eyes towards their half demon companion. He had his back to them and he quietly tapped in a grave marker. He tossed the stone that he was using for a hammer to the ground and turned to face them. His eyes full of resolve, but Kagome could see that this decision did indeed weigh on him heavily.

"His reasoning is sound. We can possibly save two villages and maybe save the third. It's the best chance we have, and the best chance those people have. His speed is greater then ours and if we are in the middle of the villages we could stand to lose all three. I'm sorry girls, but this time the saying, the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, or in this case the one, stands firm. We set out for the two sets of villages at daybreak."

And with that, Inuyasha turned and resumed work on finishing the last of the graves. The others starred at him and with sighs and downcast eyes, continued with the burial, knowing in their hearts that he was right.

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They set out on the path that lead to their destination and while Inuyasha knew that his companions understood the need for this decision; he knew Sango was upset about it the most. He had witnessed Miroku trying to talk to her about it, but she gave him the unconcerned cold shoulder as they walked. Kagome hurried to catch up with her, giving Miroku the 'its girl time look'. Miroku sighed and slowed his pace to let them have privacy.

"Ease up monk; I'm sure Kagome will have her back to slapping you silly in no time." Inuyasha said as he came up along side him. The two walked behind the girls and Miroku looked at his friend.

"I hope so. Sango told me last night that when she sees destruction like this she thinks of her home. This isn't easy for her at all."

"Understandable I suppose. But I'm the one that made the choice to do this. She should be ignoring me."

Miroku grinned slightly at the half demon's black and white outlook on women. If it were only that simple.

"While you made the decision, Inuyasha, I was the one to propose this course of action. The idea was mine; therefore the blame is also mine."

Inuyasha snorted at the logic, but if there was anything that Kagome had taught him over the years they had been together, it was that women had a sometimes strange idea about how the world worked. And somehow, no matter how messed up the logic was, their idea was law, and woe to anyone who would disagree.

"If you say so monk, but I stick to my earlier statement, Kagome can fix anything."

Miroku found him self staring at the back of Sango's head and certainly hoped that Inuyasha was right.

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"Does it hurt as bad today as it did last night?" Shippo asked.

"Only when I laugh little guy… and move… and breathe." Lennex replied as he hoisted himself onto the horse. They were leaving the small town that welcomed them after turning the Koji gang into laughing stocks. The villagers no longer bowed to their wishes now that they had seen the bullies trounced by a two foot tall fox demon. The main hostess of the beef house had offered them a place to stay that night and they both had accepted. Lennex got the feeling the girl had stars in her eyes for him but he played the injured well, probably because he was injured. The knife cuts had been treated and the one to his side had to be stitched. Luckily this girl had younger brothers who got into scrapes and stitching had become a household chore. The girl herself was no more then twenty and when asked about their parents, they were told that the Koji gang had taken their lives for something as frivolous as looking at them disapprovingly on the street.

The two travelers agreed that while Lennex's injuries were nothing to laugh at, getting rid of the gang was worth it. They had woken to a small meal prepared for them and left at their door with a note that the girl had gone to clean up her place of employment. The two ate and left a small amount of money for the help and set off.

They traveled slowly at the start until the mornings stiffness had worked itself out in Lennex's injuries and he was able to ride a little more comfortably. They looked at Miroku's map and saw that they had covered a great deal of ground. They joked that if they had stayed out of trouble the entire trip that they might have been there. They figured that they would almost be to the last village on Miroku's map just before nightfall.

It was their goal to make it to this village, collect the information and then set out and catch a few more miles before it was too dark to travel. For once they traveled most of the day without incident. They stopped for lunch. Ate in peace and continued on to their destination for the day. Shippo continued his training while they traveled. At lunch Lennex introduced a new detail into the shield training. Instead of throwing rocks he threw water.

The first glass that was thrown impacted against the shield and splashed off falling harmlessly in front of the fox demon.

"Feel how the water impacts with the shield. Its harder then one soldiery object to deflect because of its fluid nature." Lennex said as the kit took a breather. Lennex wasn't joking. When the water hit his shield it spread out over the front of it. Shippo almost panicked when he felt the better half of the front of his shield encounter resistance.

Lennex saw the strain when it happened and brought it to the kits attention that he knew. And that was the next part in the training. "This time when I throw the water I want you to keep the shield at full strength, but this time I want you to not so much block the water as let if flow around your shield. Try to be mindful of what's behind you when you do this. Energy attacks are a lot like water in their fluidity. You can block it like you did, but you will find out that if theirs a lot of energy in the blast, or if your opponent is firing a continuous stream of energy, the best way is to block a portion of the blast, and shunt the rest way from you. Just feel the water and let it pass around you instead of impacting."

And that was how the rest of lunch went. Lennex threw cup after cup at the fox and Shippo slowly started letting more water go around then before. A couple times however, Shippo concentrated so much on getting the water to go around his shield that he faltered with the impact site and got a little wet. He was advised that while a bit funny that he was soaked, he was also dead.

The latter part of that statement sobered the young demon up and they continued. Lennex even threw a couple of buckets at the fox. Only a couple though, because the strain of the larger weight took its toll on his side. Lennex promised more practice on this later at night before bedding down and they continued their south easterly course.

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They had traveled for the better part of the day without any complications. They were only a few miles from their village destination when Kagome felt another random shard hit her senses. Since she was able to say with certainty that it was on the way they went for it. The demon they encountered was weak. Even with the jewel shard. Unfortunately it was an insect demon. Some type of ant to be precise. And like an ant it controlled a colony of its brothers with the jewel.

The only saving grace was each demon was a little smaller then Shippo in size. The battle wasn't really hard as it was time consuming and tedious. Another complication was the things bit. Something Inuyasha found out multiple times. After the battle was done, Kagome applied some antiseptic cream to the welts and forming rash on Inuyasha's arm and back.

He complained like usual and told his human companions that the wounds were nothing serious, but Kagome could tell he was putting up a front and it hurt a bit more then he let on. As she was packing up he medical supplies is when she felt the next shard enter hr senses. Then the shard turned into two shards, then three then four until she felt eight shards moving quickly towards the singular shard she felt in the village. The other shards he had obtained however were not on him.

"He's heading toward the village. Unfortunately he is coming from the direction of that other village, the only good news is he is only carrying one extra shard then before. He must have stashed the others somewhere" Kagome stated with a calm that hid her real feelings. She saw the others tense, especially Sango. The demon exterminator turned her head to observe Miroku. The Monk had his head bowed, eyes locked on the ground, His free hand was clenched into a fist, and the other held his staff so tightly his knuckles were white.

Inuyasha shared a quick glance with Kagome. The Half demon with his heighten hearing had heard some of the girls conversation during the day and knew that Sango had, after a lot of talking to from Kagome, grudgingly accepted why Miroku would have brought up such an idea. Now however, when their fears had been realized they weren't sure what would happen. Right now they would hope for the best, they needed to stick together now more then ever. The last time they had fought Kalin, they had been ill prepared for his power and speed. Now they needed to work together.

"Lets go, maybe we can get there before he does." Inuyasha barked and presented his back to Kagome. The young girl from the future quickly shouldered her pack, grabbed her bow and arrow, and climbed onto the half demons back, as carefully as she could because of the minor wounds. With a grunt of acknowledgement to her thoughtfulness and a quick glance towards Miroku and Sango, Inuyasha started off in a sprint towards the village.

Miroku heard Kirara transform but refused to look at Sango. He couldn't stand himself now that they knew they had sacrificed the lives of an innocent village, and he knew Sango probably despised him even more then he did himself. He turned on his heel and started after Inuyasha. He may not be as fast as the Half demon but he wouldn't be that far behind. Years of hasty retreats from over protective fathers, boyfriends, and husbands, had granted Miroku the ability to move very quickly. He wasn't that far behind Inuyasha when he felt something latch onto the back of his robes.

He was, at the same time, surprised and not, when he found himself thrown into his customary riding position of Kirara's back. In an automatic reaction from years of traveling together he had woven his staff in front of Sango to keep a grip during riding. It was only after they were properly situated that the monk's face belied his shock. He saw Sango turn slightly and glance at him out of the corner of her eye and then face front again.

"I am not happy about this at all, and I'm still a little upset, but I do understand the reasoning a bit better.. I don't like it, but I understand. And…" at this point Miroku could have sworn her heard her voice falter a bit.

"And it will take a lot more fights, bigger then this to make me hate you as much as you seem to have thought I did. After all I do lo..."

"I know Sango, and thank you. Now however is not the time or place I imagined we would _share_ those words. So we will save them for a better setting."

This time Sango turned around to view him fully and nodded her head in agreement and then faced forward again. Both settled their hearts and steeled themselves for the upcoming battle.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Kalin touched down in the middle of the village. All the villages he had been to were basically laid out the same, and the middle area was the central hub. Were the people gathered to conduct business, meet with friends, shop for the things they needed. It was the perfect place to appear. The perfect place to make his demands. The perfect place to kill a majority of the village when they wouldn't cooperate.

"Bring me the fragment of the Shikon jewel that you harbor, or I will destroy you." His voice rang out. The people of the village stopped what they were doing to take in the speaker of such demands. And as one the people scattered from his as quickly as they could. Usually they didn't do that until he killed someone.

Kalin looked around at the fleeing people and decided to head towards the residential area towards the east. Nothing but pure chance made that decision for him. They would all die eventually. He took a few steps towards his destination when a noise caught his attention. He'd heard it before but couldn't quite place it. He glanced towards the area of the village square he heard the noise coming from. He finally placed the noise when the Hiraikotsu came spinning out from between two huts. He got an arm up just before the weapon smashed into his chest. His arm dampened the blow a bit but the bone boomerang took him off his feet. His thoughts as his back hit the dirt were that he now knew why the villager's had run before the carnage had begun. They had been warned. He quickly rolled to his feet and watched the demon exterminator reclaim her weapon on its return arc. He rolled to his feet to square off against his opponent. He caught movement out of his peripheral vision and quickly turned to his left, once again raising his arm to block the incoming staff aimed for his head.

The impact rang out but the staff didn't budge Kalin's arm. The fighter smirked at the monk and his feeble attempt of an attack. The look returned by the monk mirrored his own and it threw the fighters rhythm. Miroku leapt backwards and Kalin knew to turn around. His turn saved him from the blade that descended. But like the missed swing from the last battle, the half demon followed up with his claws.

Kalin recoiled from the wound clutching his chest, blood seeping between his fingers. He looked up and took in his opponents. The three took in a unified front. He then noticed the fourth member of their group. She had her bow in one hand and an arrow at the ready, waiting for a shot. There was no telling how long they had been in this village but he was sure this girl would have the shard.

"Hey, your fights with us, leave Kagome out of it" Inuyasha shouted as he leapt forward in another attack. Miroku and Sango followed the half demon in a flanking position. The attacks were more efficient then last time and Kalin was hard pressed to put up a defense. Apparently they had learned a few things from their last encounter.

"You don't seem that tough today, bastard!" Inuyasha said as he tried his best to skewer Kalin with his sword.

Kalin grimaced. The pathetic half demon was right. He had collected jewels from four villages, hidden three in a small valley and one on him, but something inside told him now wasn't the time to utilize their powers. He evaded another swipe from the Tetsusaiga and caught the demon exterminator's fist in his hand before it could smash into his nose. The Monk however was able to hit him multiple times in the kidneys. The pain made him let go of Sango and turn towards the monk. He lashed out and connected with the monk's sternum with a palm strike. The monk fell back but then Sango was there kicking him in the chest, increasing the pain of the claw wounds.

He tried to backhand the woman but all his fists met with was empty air. Inuyasha used the miss to swing his sword again. Kalin leapt out of the way and found himself with a brief reprieve from the fight. All the fighters were not closing in and welcomed the brief break. Then he realized his folly. He leapt to the side, once again letting chance pick the way he went as a blazing pink arrow whizzed by his previous position.

The purification energy didn't hit him but the proximity of it briefly lifted the fog from his mind. For a moment he was horrified by what he was doing and had done. But then something clenched down on his mind. A will greater then his own urging him to finish his enemies and complete his quest. He looked up at the girl in the short green skirt intent on taking the shard he knew she had and then take her life. Once again he was interrupted before he could make his thoughts reality. Sango and Miroku led a double attack, Sango swinging the Hiraikotsu high and from the right, while Miroku attacked low and from the left with his staff. Kalin spiked his power and blocked the boomerang with his arm and the staff with his foot, pushing off with both appendages and knocking his opponents off their center. He followed up with blows of his own kicking the monk in the side and this time successfully backhanding Sango. He turned to look for Inuyasha and found him closer then he thought. He tried to get out of the way but knew this time it was futile.

He focused all his power into a shield coving his body like a second skin. The Blade impacted just under the ribcage and sparks flew from the impact. Inuyasha struggled and put all his strength into pushing the sword through the shield. In the end, Kalin's shield buckled under the Tetsusaiga. Kalin's eyes went wide as the sword sliced into him. Inuyasha pulled back and readied for another blow.

He knew this time the win was theirs. He had to leave now. His shield had protected him mostly but this wound would take time to heal, even with the jewel shards' powers enhancing his healing. He dodged once again from the half demons strike and quickly launched a ki blast into the ground. The resulting explosion made the three companions back away from the fighter.

"You will all regret this, I swear to you, you will regret it." And with those parting words he leapt into the sky and rocketed away, a ki contrail dissipating behind him.

Kagome quickly joined her friends as they watched Kalin retreat from the village. The three melee fighters were breathing hard and two of them had a couple new bruises, but the light in their eyes shown with satisfaction.

"Good job guys, we can put this as a win for our side." Kagome said excitedly. The villagers slowly approached the outsiders, grateful for the warning and fighting on their behalf. This time there would be no burial detail. This time they would have a victory celebration.

"Do you think we should take up the head villagers offer and stay here for the night?" Sango asked as they walked toward said persons home.

"With the wounds we inflicted today, I think we can take a chance and relax a bit. We did win but I want to rest up before fighting with him again." Inuyasha said. "Besides, Kagome should be able to feel his movements if he heads for that other village. I do want you to know that I am sorry we had to sacrifice a village Sango. If there was any other way…" the half demon trailed off as he watched Sango's head dip.

"I feel for those people too, Inuyasha, but I understand why we had to do this. If we didn't, this village would probably be a burning wreck like the others."

Miroku came up beside her and threw his arm around Sango. She turned to him and smiled, melting into him. Inuyasha turned to find Kagome beaming at her friends and Inuyasha had to admit, it was nice to see things turning back to normal. Next time they would finish it for sure. For right now, they would take a small break and enjoy their win.

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"Good Shippo, now try to read my body language, it will give you some insight on what I plan to do next." Lennex stated as he took a defensive stance. The young fox stood opposite Lennex taking a fighting stance of his own. Tonight's exercise differed from the norm. Shippo worked for a bit on his shield technique and his normal fox fire technique. Then Lennex brought up the subject of hand to hand training. He gave the kit some basic moves at the beginning but soon found out that the fox had paid very close attention to Inuyasha and the rest.

Shippo was still coming into his power and as it stood now, Lennex experience was keeping him ahead of the game. He knew that had he been at full power the fox wouldn't have stood a remote chance against him. But given time and his own chance at gaining experience, Shippo would indeed be a powerful alley and a dangerous foe to those that stood against him and his friends.

The fox leapt at him again claws extended for a downward strike. Lennex feinted left avoiding the blow while simultaneously launching a counter attack. Due to Shippo's size he was a hard target to hit. The fox used his demon reflexes to actually use Lennex's leg as a springboard when it flew under him. Now being higher above Lennex once more the kit tried to come down behind his friend to deliver a blow.

Lennex rolled forward on his uninjured side, moving himself out of the fox's reach. Shippo touched down and turned to face his friend.

"Very good on the leg maneuver, the key to winning a fight is to learn how to use your opponent's movements against him. You're on your way to becoming an outstanding fighter."

The two traded blows for a good portion of the night. Not trying to really hurt each other but more so attempting to out maneuver the other. It was fun for both of the new found friends and their moods were relaxed. The knife injury still made some things impossible for Lennex, but he kept his condition at the forefront of his fight as to not aggravate the wound too much. After the village they had visited today, they learned that the area they were looking for was only a day's travel away. They had made exceptional time and their goal was almost in site. They would soon be able to join their other friends and help them in the fight against Kalin and Naraku.

They were both very very happy. Perhaps that was why the voices were upon them before they realized there was anyone close by.

"Girl, I swear you are going to be the death of me. How childish can you be really? After everything my lord has done for you and you continue to act so… so… human." A raspy voice echoed from the woods.

Lennex cocked his head to try and get a bearing on were the voice was coming from. Shippo however stood stock still. His eyes were wide with shock. Lennex saw this and raised an eyebrow. Just then the return retort came to them just as two people, one ugly green lizard type demon, and one young human girl.

"Really master Jaken, all I wanted to do was pick some flowers. It's not childish. Our lord likes my gifts. Oh hello Shippo!" The girl said as she spotted the fox and Lennex. The green thing gripped the gnarled staff a little more forcefully as he too took in their appearance.

"Uh, hi Rin…" Shippo stuttered, eyes darting around wildly.

Lennex took the signs of nervousness as due from the appearance of this female. He couldn't help but give his young friend a hard time.

"A past girl friend of yours Shippo?" he teased. He saw Shippo give him a look, and the girl named Rin's face blush a little as she faced the ground and tapped said ground with her foot.

"Not hardly, human. Our lord would never let this pathetic demon court the lady Rin."

Lennex narrowed his eyes at the green demon. "Jaken is it? From what I've seen Shippo is an outstanding demon. If your 'lord'" and this part Lennex said with contempt "sees fit to keep you around, his standards can't be that high. If he prefers someone like you over him, I have to question his metal state."

All three stared at Lennex. Jaken with disgust, Rin with surprise, and Shippo's look was a mixture of shock and fear. He would have questioned this turn of events but found he couldn't speak. Not because he didn't have the will, but because a hand with a grip like a vise had suddenly materialize around his throat.

He was lifted into the air, his arms reflexively wrapping around the offending appendage trying to break loose. His eyes locked with golden orbs. What stood before him was a demon. He knew this to be true from the strength and markings on the man. He had long white hair and wore a formal white garb complete with ceremonial armor. Two swords were tucked into his sash. The look of superiority on this demons face rivaled anything Vegeta had ever thrown his way.

"This Sesshomaru does not take insults lightly." The demon spoke.

Sesshomaru? This was Inuyasha's half brother, the one Shippo had told him stories about. Lennex really wished he was able to tap into his power. This was one of the most powerful demon auras he had felt since he had been in the past. However his own Sayjin blood reacted to the challenge and instead of adopting an air of obedience he stared back in defiance. He felt the hand tighten a bit more around his throat as he watched the demons eyes slide towards his companion.

"I see that you got yourself a new traveling companion. How unfortunate he doesn't know his place any better then that worthless half breed."

Shippo smiled weakly and then looked toward Rin. "I really would appreciate any kind of help I could get to assist my friend. He's a good guy; just a big mouth is all."

Lennex found it strange he would be seeking help from the young girl, but waited to see what happened. Not like he had much choice but to wait. He felt lucky enough at this time to even be taking in the amount of air the grip was letting through.

"Lord Sesshomaru, This man happens to be a dear friend to Shippo here. I think he would be very sad if he lost his friend, and that would make me sad too. You don't want to make me sad, do you, my lord?"

Lennex would never have believed it had he not seen it. He saw it in the demon lord's eyes. He knew this little girl was playing him. He put up a front but Lennex knew he was out of trouble for now.

"You should thank the girl. Next time I will not allow such insolence to go unpunished." Sesshomaru spoke dropping the Sayjin to the ground. Lennex found himself on his rear looking up at the demon. One hand rubbing his throat. He might have spoken but at this time he realized he didn't get as much air as he thought and was very light headed. He made himself a promise that he would never meet this particular demon again without his power.

"Come." The stoic lord commanded as he walked through their campsite disappearing into the night. Jaken trailed after him followed by Rin. Shippo and the girl traded goodbyes and then they too were gone. Shippo turned to his new friend a look of relief now on his face.

"You have no idea how lucky you are that he has such a soft spot for Rin." Shippo stated.

Lennex continued rubbing his neck agreeing one hundred percent. "Remind me to get her a present. A house or something." Lennex regained his feet and the two companions walked back to their fire, rest the only things on their minds after the encounter.

Tomorrow would hopefully be the beginning of the end.


	10. Final Destinations

_a/n: well all its been awhile, hope your enjoying this little story as much as I. This is the pre beta version, I tried to do it justice in correcting it but when I get it professionally proofed I'll put it up. I just want to get it out there for those of you who are as hungry to read another chapter as I am to write one. Were winding down and I hope to have the next chapters out in quick succession, but I am moving in a week to another state so it maybe a bit, nothing new there in my updating habits right? Well enjoy this chapter and if you have the time, drop me a review._

**Chapter 10: Final Destinations**

The first thing Lennex did when he awoke was immediately bring his hand to this throat. He winced as he gently touched the area that Inuyasha's half brother had gripped the night before like a vice. He could imagine the bruise that was there. The next thing he did was check his surroundings for danger. He didn't feel any power levels that he had learned to classify as demons and was glad for that. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow to watch his new friend.

Shippo, it looked, had been up for a bit. A small cook fire was going in the fire pit that they had dug out and a pot was boiling over it. He wasn't sure what the fox had made for breakfast but he would find out shortly. While whatever it was warmed itself over the flames, the young fox stood in the fighter stance Lennex had taught him and remained motionless. If he was using the stance correctly he was deep in meditation, visualizing a fight against an opponent of his choosing. Lennex felt the kit's power coursing through his body as he spared in his mind. Piccolo had taught Lennex this technique early in his own training. Using the body's own Ki in a sort of dream state.

The effects were almost like enduring a real fight, after all, whatever the mind perceived as real would create a real effect to the body. Lennex checked his own ki level, once more running into that invisible block. He could almost feel the power he possessed but it still remained out of his grasp and the more he pushed, the more fatigued he became. It was really starting to annoy him He also checked his previous injuries he received so far in this journey. Aside from some minor cuts, bruises and scratches, the only real hindrance was the stab wound to his side. It was healing quicker then it would have had he really been human, but it was still causing him pain if he over extended himself. He hoped to have all this cured by today.

He was so close. Korin's Tower was rumored to be in the area, and if they could reach the small cat God, healing would be a piece of cake. Or so he hoped. He felt Shippo's energy drop and focused his attention on his friend once more. The fox slowly opened his eyes and let out a breath, bringing a hand to swipe at his brow, removing the sweat that had accumulated there.

"Did you win?" Lennex asked.

Shippo turned his head and nodded. "it was a tough fight but I managed to get the victory. You were right though, even though it's my imagination, the opponent almost seems like its own entity," He walked over to the fire and scooped some of the substance into a bowl and brought it to Lennex.

"Nothing fancy, just some porridge. Filling and quick to make, I know you want to get moving as soon as possible."

Lennex nodded, taking the bowl and frowning into it. The kit was right and he did want to get moving, but porridge was defiantly not a Sayjin's favorite meal. He started to choke the stuff down as he responded to the kits earlier statement.

"That's the beauty of the fighting mentally. It's like splitting your awareness into two. While you have control overall, you can only focus on yourself. While the other half of your conscious does its best to compete against you. It sounds confusing but it works trust me. I haven't learned it yet, but one of my teachers can split himself into two exact copies and fights himself. It adds the extra bit of realism into the fight."

Shippo nodded as he filled his own bowl and started to eat happily. Apparently the fox didn't have the same reservations to the meal as Lennex had. The joys of youth Lennex thought to himself. They finished their breakfast quickly and packed up their campsite. Lennex mounted the horse, a trusted stead after almost a weeks worth of travel and the two set out to find that which they sought.

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It was one of the rare times in their companionship when Kagome was the first awake and rousing the rest of the party. Inuyasha always blamed it on the 'cushy' life style she was used to in her own time that she was able to sleep so long into the morning. She always argued with him that day break wasn't exactly that late but she never did sway the half demons opinion. Today however, she had an internal alarm go off in her head. The alarm was also what she called her jewel sense. And right now it was saying two shards had come into her sensory range.

She had roused Inuyasha, which wasn't hard to do since he always slept lightly when on a journey and went to raise Sango, leaving Miroku to him. After everyone was awoken and advised of the situation, they quickly gathered their things and left the room they were given for the night when they had saved the village. Apparently the stragglers of the destroyed villages had made their way here and so the people knew that the battle could have been a lot worse for them had Inuyasha and company not arrived. They were fed, bathed, much to the girls delight, and housed free of charge.

When the exited the building they had spent the night in, they noticed that very few of the village's population was up. Only those that were getting ready to open shop and local eateries were awake. The sun was barley peaking over the mountains in the east as they set out of the village.

"You sure it's just two shards and not Kalin and his little collection?" Inuyasha asked for what seemed like the fourteenth time to Kagome. She sighed and tried counting backwards to alleviate the desire to sit him multiple times.

"Yes, Inuyasha, its only two shards and they are very close." She heard him exhale quickly, it sounded like keh to her and continued on, letting her lead the way but sticking very close to her in case of danger. Miroku, Sango and Kirara followed behind, watching the two argue about the shards, sharing a glance with each other and smiling with mirth at the two friends. They continued walking for the better part of an hour before they heard signs of a battle. They quickened their pace and crested a hill to see two demons trying their best to tear each other to shreds.

The first demon was a large hulking bear demon. It stood almost seven feet tall and easily massed around 1500 pounds. Its opponent was dwarfed by the size of the bear, but the lynx demon made up for it in speed and agility. They both showed the scars of battle and must have been at it for quite some time. The lumbering bear was doing its best to crush the lynx, while in turn the lynx was trying to do enough damage to put the bear down for good.

"They each have a shard." Kagome stated quietly as she watched the fight. Inuyasha grunted. It made sense to him. Bear demons were not ones to be picking a fight with unless there was a good reason. Their shear size intimidated most, luckily, he wasn't most demons.

"Hey," he called out to the demons, stopping them in their fight as each warily looked up at the group, trying hard not to loose site of each other in the process. "We're going to have to take those shards from you now. Hand'em over or I'm going to show you what a real fight is like." The others quietly sighed and shook their head at their half demon companion's brashness but readied themselves for the reply.

"If you want my shard, you'll have to take it. I warn you though, it wont be easy, ask this weakling and he will tell you." The bear's booming voice came to them as he motioned to the lynx. The lynx glared at him but chose to focus on this new threat.

Inuyasha grinned, pulling Tetsusaiga from its sheath, the sword transforming into the great fang of legend. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He quickly looked at Sango and Miroku "you two take care of that lynx, this bear shouldn't take long, and you," he said finally resting his gaze on Kagome, "stay put and out of trouble" he then turned and started advancing on the bear, missing the glare Kagome focuses on his back. Sango motioned for Kirara to stay with the girl from the future and started down the hill with Miroku. Kirara Transformed into her larger demon form and stood next to Kagome.

The lynx moved away from the bear as it watched Inuyasha closing in with the mammoth sword. He would let them fight it out and then take care of what was left, letting them wear each other out. As much as the words stung, the bear was right in that he was a tough kill. It looked however, that he wouldn't get the rest he wanted as the two humans started for him.

"Come to end your miserable lives humans?" he heckled across the space separating them. He'd killed many men of that pathetic spiritual power caste, one more holy man wouldn't be a problem, and a woman, it made him chuckle. The two spread out to flank him and he noticed the woman shuck the traveling kimono she wore. He had to reevaluate his opinion when he saw the exterminator garb she wore. This might be tougher then he thought.

The monk charged him suddenly, the gold staff readied for attack. The first swing was easily side stepped and the lynx took a moment to grin as he readied to end the man's life. His eyes widened in shock however when the monk's free hand threw three slips of paper onto his body. The holy energy ripped up and down him and he howled in pain. This monk was good. He jumped away and clawed at his own body, opening up wounds on himself to shred the sutras. The monk had a small smile on his face and the lynx's blood boiled.

"Your better then most of the holy men I've killed, but that isn't going to save you." He called out. The monk dipped his head in acknowledgement, the smile never leaving his face as he replied

"That may be my friend, but those whose lives you have taken didn't have such a lovely comrade to help them."

The lynx cursed himself as he remembered the woman. He dove to the side out of instinct and a giant bone boomerang came crashing into the ground where had been. The weapon left a small crater as it rebounded back into the sky and whirled back into the exterminator's hand. This fight was going to be anywhere close to as easy as he once thought.

Across the way, the bear demon was thinking the same thing. This dog demon was as quick as his previous opponent, but the weapon he possessed hurt a lot more then the lynx's claws had. He already had a deep gash across his chest, the blood flowing freely down his fur and clothes, matting the hair and staining the cloth red.

"You will die pathetic half demon." He growled as he charged and swung his massive hand, claws intent on impaling the upstart.

"Keh, better demons then you have tried and failed." Inuyasha replied leaping above the strike and coming down to land on the outstretched arm. The half demon quickly ran up the arm and leapt in the air again, turning around and raising his sword to strike.

The bear screamed out in rage and pain as the sword removed his arm from his body. He staggered back clutching at the wound glaring at Inuyasha, who propped Tetsusaiga on his shoulder and spoke.

"Give me the shard and the arm will be the only thing you lose today. Fair trade I think."

The bear roared in fury, forgetting the wound and charging once again, its bloodlust skyrocketing.

"Stupid move." Inuyasha muttered, readying his weapon. The Bear's remaining hand came down in a massive over hand strike, and had Inuyasha still been standing in that spot, he wouldn't have been crushed into the ground. But the half demon move left and forward, crouching inside the bears reach. The bear looked down surprised to see his foe so close. Inuyasha leapt forward, swinging the Tetsusaiga and cleaving the bear in half just above the waist. The two halves feel to the ground, the last breath escaping the bear in a slow groan. Inuyasha swung the blade a few times to remove the blood and sheathed the sword, glancing over to Miroku and Sango.

The lynx demon was fast, but against two opponents with the skills that these two had, he didn't stand a chance. He kept trying to kill one but they were trading attacks. One would feint, the other would attack and they would alternate. Between the monk's staff and the exterminators boomerang and hidden blades, he was bleeding freely. His left arm hung uselessly, the shoulder having been crushed by the Hiraikotsu, lacerations and bruises ran up and down his torso from the staff. He lunged again at the woman, intent on spilling her entrails on the grass under her but was blocked, the boomerang making just as effective as a shield as a weapon.

Sango used the weapon to send the blow down and to the right standing almost shoulder to shoulder with her attacker. He turned to glare at her, but before he could reposition for another attack, Sango's nimble hand was under her shoulder armor and when it reappeared the hand let loose a powder into the lynx's face.

His eyes instantly burned and watered as he started choking. He backed off clawing at his face and throat. Miroku took the opportunity and threw another sutra at the lynx, this time the sacred paper, didn't cause pain but immobilization, allowing Sango to finish the job with her main weapon. The lynx fell to the ground, all life leaving him as Sango caught the boomerang and slung it over her shoulder. Miroku walked over and congratulated her on another win and the two turned to face Inuyasha.

During their fight, he had already dispatched his own opponent and called Kagome down to him. The poor girl looked a little green as she picked out the shard from the top half of the corpse. She quickly put the shard into the container with the rest and they both walked over to the lynx body to repeat the procedure, Kirara following behind in her kitten form now that the danger had passed.

"As much as I have been through, I don't think ill ever get used to all the blood and gore." She muttered as she knelt to retrieve the shard from the lynx's chest.

"It's probably best you never get used to it Kagome. Death isn't something to take lightly or ever get used to." Miroku said, Sango nodding her head in agreement.

"Keh, they asked for it, I don't know why you get all squeamish every time you have to get a little dirty. Its just blood, it does wash." Inuyasha stated. Kagome turned to glare at him a sit on the tip of her tongue, when she felt something on the edge of her awareness. She focused on the feeling, her eyes going wide.

"He's heading for the village!"

The four quickly turned and made haste in the direction of the village.

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They had rode for most of the morning before coming to a path that lead into a small range of bluffs. Lennex had suggested that maybe they find another way around but Shippo was adamant about going forward. The fox demon had said he felt some kind of spiritual aura coming from the direction of the bluffs and it didn't look like there was any other way around.

So they started forward, the path taking them between to large cliff faces making them ride at the bottom of a canyon. Lennex's eyes kept darting from side to side, thinking to himself that this would be the perfect place for an ambush. However they rode through the small range with no hostility directed towards them. They crossed paths with a family that was traveling the opposite direction, and while they didn't seem hostile, they looked upon Lennex and Shippo warily.

Lennex paid it no mind as they rounded a bend and saw that the sides were gradually coming down. They were almost out of this place. He didn't consider himself claustrophobic but being trapped between so much high ground did unnerve him. He kicked the horse up into a canter and finally exited the canyon. He looked to his left and saw lush grassland that moved in the wind. It looked like it stretched for miles and was a peaceful site compared to before.

"Is that what we are looking for?" Shippo said in a strangely quiet voice.

Lennex turned to glance at the demon and saw that Shippo's eyes were wide and mouth slack. He looked up and to the right and saw what Shippo had seen. He had to admit that from the ground, Korin's Tower was very impressive. It was still a good distance away, but they could see the tower stretch from the ground to the sky, forming a sort of bridge between the two. A small village was laid out around the tower and they were close enough to make out the small shapes of people moving about.

"That is exactly what we are looking for Shippo." Lennex replied with a grin. Turning their horse in the direction of the tower and going into a full gallop. They rode hard for a good twenty minuets before reaching the outskirts of the village. The tower now huge and filling up the sky they were close. Shippo continued to stare up at it, trying to see the top which was hidden by the clouds.

Lennex slowed the horse to a slow walk, allowing the animal rest from the hard ride. As they made their way through the village, they noticed the people all giving them cold looks. It looked as if the rumors about outsiders not being welcomed were true. But Lennex refused to be swayed from his goal. They rode to the base of the tower and dismounted from the horse, craning his neck to look towards the towers peak. A man stepped out from the hut near the base and approached them. Lennex smirked to himself. While the village would change over the years, this man must have been the decedent his timelines village chief. The similarities were remarkable.

"Greetings travelers. My name is Jun and it is my family's task to defend this tower. Do you mean any harm to it or this village?"

Lennex watched the man's hand slide behind and under his shirt; no doubt reaching for a weapon should the encounter turn hostile.

"We don't mean any harm at all, only the chance to attempt to scale the tower and the rewards at the top." Lennex replied. He knew that Korin had made scaling his tower a training challenge for those who wished to train under him or ask his guidance. It was the right thing to say as the man relaxed.

"You shall have your chance then, stranger. Be warned that the tower is almost impossible to climb and should you fall, survival is not guaranteed."

"Thank you chief." Lennex bowed and then turned towards the tower. He glanced down at Shippo. "I know this is supposed to be a test, but how bout we cheat so we can help out our friends?"

Shippo nodded and leapt into the air transforming into his giant pink balloon form. Jun gaped at this and Lennex quickly placed the reigns of the horse in his hand.

"Take good care of him. He did his task very well and deserves a good retirement. There's good grassland outside the village. Let him roam free out there." Lennex called over his shoulder and he climbed on top of the transformed Shippo. He sat in lotus position and waved at the villagers that had gathered as Shippo rose off the ground

They rose quickly and soon the village was nothing but a speck on the ground. They stayed next to the tower and Lennex looked up once more to see if he could see the top. It still eluded his gaze but he had faith they would reach it soon. He noticed that their ascent started slowing a bit.

"Anything wrong Shippo?" he asked

The giant eyes of the balloon form were scrunched together and beads of sweat were on what would have been considered the forehead.

"It's getting harder to go up. Something is making it hard to concentrate." Shippo grunted out.

Lennex looked up again, they had to be close.

"This is Korin's defense barriers. He only wants those who are very strong willed to climb this tower. It weeds out bad company and unexpected visitors. Just keep trying buddy. Focus your Ki to help you and we should get there in no time."

"Says you, your not the one doing the flying" Shippo bit out but redoubled his efforts They continued to rise for another ten of fifteen minutes when Lennex saw the rounded bottom of the palace section of the tower. He patted Shippo and urged him to go just a little more. Their climb was now almost painfully slow as they neared the top of the tower. The barriers were taking their toll on his little friend. They had just reached the bottom platform when Shippo cried out transforming with a poof back into his normal form.

Lennex quickly grabbed the ledge and Shippo at the same time, dangling in the air. He quickly brought Shippo up to the platform and tossed him onto it none to gently as he gripped the edge with both hands. Flying would have come in very handy right now, he thought to himself, but that's why he was here. He strained and used all his strength to pull himself up. He almost lost his grip when the injury on his side reopened due to the strain, but he gritted his teeth and managed to work through the pain and pull himself onto ledge.

Once on the ledge he lay on his back for a moment, catching his breath. He rolled his head and saw Shippo shakily getting to his hands and knees. He touched his side and when he looked at his hand he wasn't surprised to see blood on it. Oh well he would deal with that later. He got up, grimacing in pain as he did and motioned Shippo to follow him up the small flight of stairs.

When the reached the top they were in the main chamber of the tower. It was oval shaped and sparse of furniture. Not that the cat deity needed it due to lack of visitors. They looked around and saw a doorway leading off into another room. A waist high railing encircled the outside of the room keeping whoever was inside from falling out, because the tower was open to the outside. Shippo eased over to the edge and peered down.

"Quite a long way huh," Lennex said, watching the fox. "I'm proud of you for getting us up here."

"As am I, although proud might not be the exact word I'd use" a gravely voice said from behind them. The two looked back towards the doorway and noticed it was now filled with a four foot high white cat, carrying a small wooden staff.

"Welcome to my tower gentlemen." Korin spoke again.

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Inuyasha ran across the plain quickly, the ground blurring to Kagome's eyes as she rode on his back. Sango and Miroku right behind them on Kirara as they raced for the village. Shortly in their race to the village Kagome spoke again.

"He is leaving the village." She said as she felt a grouping of shards move away from the village, leaving the single shard in one place. "But he didn't find the shard" Miroku frowned as he tried to puzzle out this turn of events.

"Kalin could have only been in the village for a few minutes. Why would he leave so soon without the shard?"

"We are about to find out!" Inuyasha said as the village came into view. There were no smoke columns and no panicked screams of people in the village, the usual signs that Kalin had visited. It looked untouched and for the most part, the people on the edge were going about their business. As they drew close to the village square however, there was defiantly a disturbance. There were about twenty five people gathered there, trying to talk over each other. One man sat in the middle, his head cradled in his own hands.

"What happened here?" Kagome asked, raising her voice to be heard. The villages stopped talking at once and turned to face the new comers. The man sitting down raised his head and gazed at them before speaking. "So it is true." He simply said. Kagome repeated her question to this man with a softer tone of voice.

"This man, or demon or whatever he was, came swooping down out of the sky and demanded to speak to the head villager, which is me. I was doing my morning rounds with my teenage daughter when this happened. I approached and asked what I could do for him. He just glared at me before grabbing my daughter. Two young men tried to take her back, but he fended them off with ease. He told me and everyone else standing around that when the strangers to this village came, to send them in that direction," he said, pointing off towards the east. "He said make sure you brought him what he wanted."

Inuyasha clenched his fist in fury. This was a new low for Kalin. Taking a prisoner and making them do his work for him. Miroku stepped forward to console the man and vow that his daughter would be returned. Kagome and Sango went to get the shard from the village. It didn't take long for the young woman from the future to find the shard and she placed it with the others." They regrouped and without wasting anymore time started off east.

They walked coming up to a forest and made their way through it. Picking out a path and pushing on. The sun peaked through the tree tops and the forest was eerily quiet. None of the normal sounds of a wooded area were heard. They walked for almost an hour before the trees started thinning out. And finally they broke through the tree line. A vast short grass plain was set before them with a small rocky ridge opposite the forest, a hundred yards separating trees from rock.

Inuyasha spotted her first and quickly bounded over to her. She sat in the middle of the field, hands tied behind her back and tied also around her ankles, keeping her in place, a gag placed to keep her from crying out. The rope used was quickly shredded by the half demon's claws and he gently took the gag from her mouth.

She thanked him profusely, babbling with fear and the beginning signs of relief as the others stood behind Inuyasha. Kagome tapped Inuyasha's shoulder.

"He's here" she said. They looked behind them and sure enough Kalin was standing between them and the forest. His hands hung loosely at his sides as he stared at them.

"Did you bring the shard?" he yelled to them.

Inuyasha stepped forward to put himself in the lead and nodded his head. "Let the girl go back to her home. You got what you wanted bastard."

Kalin looked at the young girl and nodded his head. He really had no interest in the girl. "She may leave. Be sure to tell your village that Kalin spared your life this day." He said.

Sango quickly motioned for the girl to climb onto Kirara's back, and when she was seated firmly the cat demon leapt into he air, flying the girl back to her home. She then flanked Inuyasha on his left, while Miroku moved right. Kagome coming to stand at Inuyasha's side, her bow held tightly in her hand.

"Time to end this Kalin!" Inuyasha declared, putting a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

Kalin laughed and nodded. "Your right about that but before I put you out of your misery, someone wants to greet you." He replied, motioning towards the rock ridge.

The group turned and looked up at the ridges ledge that faced the forest. Seeing a ripple in the air as a barrier was dissolved. Revealing the true ridge and the five individuals that stood upon it.. Kagome gasped as she felt the almost whole Sacred Jewel and Inuyasha growled low in his throat as the smell of the individuals hit him. Naraku stood in the lead, grinning down at them from his perch with Hakadoshi on his left, and Kagura on his right. Behind Kagura stood Kanna and Kohaku.

"Welcome to your death, Inuyasha" Naraku chuckled.


	11. Race Against Time

_Well everyone we're winding down. I've been waiting along time to get to this point. I hope you have enjoyed it so far. I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon and then one or maybe two after that and that should it. I'm going to finish it hehe. Reviews are always welcome and enjoy the chapter_

**Chapter 11: Race Against Time**

The wind blew through the small grassy valley, rustling the leaves of the trees that bordered it on one side, while moving some of the lighter rocks and kicking up a little dust from the small range of cliffs that bordered on the other. The grass bent slighting under the wind returning to stand up straight and proud. The valley was quiet and almost peaceful. The only sound that could be heard was a low growl emanating from the back of Inuyasha's throat. The growl had started when he and his companions had first caught site of the individuals standing atop one of the cliffs. It had not ceased since and continued to grow in volume until it could be heard reverberating throughout the grass plain. It finally stopped when Inuyasha felt that the growl wasn't enough.

"Naraku," he called out to his enemy, anger lacing through the word making it sound like a curse, "Finally decided to face me eh? Good, when I get done with your new help, I'll be right up to rip off your head and feed it to your detachments!" He ended the threat by pointing the Teutsuiga at Naraku.

The reply came in a mockingly sincere voice.

"Inuyasha, what makes you think you'll be getting past Kalin in the first place. As I told you before, you're here to finally complete your life's goal. You're here to die." Naraku started laughing when he was done, bringing smiles to Hakadoshi and Kagura's faces. The other two companions, Kohaku and Kanna remained impassive.

The remark didn't do anything to lighten Inuyasha's mood. He slid his eyes from the still chuckling Naraku to his first opponent. Kalin still stood about a hundred paces from them, arms hanging loosely at his side. The wind ruffled the pants he wore which were loose and provided free movement. He wore his simple black vest, providing his arms with a free range of motion and no hindrance. His eyes bored into Inuyasha's, silently communicating that this would indeed be their last confrontation. Inuyasha smirked to himself. To bad it was going to be Kalin's last fight. He had a promise to keep to Naraku and he intended to make good on it. He turned his head slightly to speak to those that stood behind him.

"Kagome, you stay back here, keep an eye on our friends on the cliff and warn us if they make a move. Keep an arrow ready and shoot if you have a clear shot, otherwise stay out of it." Kagome nodded her head in agreement to her orders. Inuyasha briefly glanced at his other two friends. "We do it just like we did last time, take turns, back each other up and keep him off his guard."

Sango and Miroku both nodded and readied the weapons that they carried. As one, the three friends started forward to meet the upcoming fight head on.

Kalin smiled as he saw them approach. "Let's finish this fight the only way it could finish. With you three dead at my feet." A purplish black aura formed around Kalin, a visual representation of the power he now had at his command. He then let out a yell and charged forward to meet his attackers.

0-0-0-0

"Master Korin, let me introduce you to my friend Shippo. Shippo, this is Master Korin, keeper of this tower, and also keeper of the Senzu beans." Lennex said with a flourish. Shippo waved his hand at the white cat in greeting. Korin however remained still, one hand stroking his chin. His eyes locked with Shippo's for a few moments and then locked onto Lennex's. They didn't remain there long before he spoke.

"Well gentlemen, it looks like I am not the only one here who can read minds. I find that interesting."

Shippo's eyes widened in surprise and he spoke. "You can read thoughts? Is that a demon power or something?"

Lennex chuckled and the Korin regarded him for a moment before turning back to answer the young demons question. "I'm not a demon, and the power to read minds comes with years of training and wisdom. It's also the perks of becoming a deity, not quite a god but a protector of these lands."

Shippo nodded his head in understanding and then scrunched up his face in confusion. "Who else can read minds then?" he asked.

This time Korin directed his gaze to Lennex and held it there. "Your friend obviously can. He speaks about me with familiarity when I have never met him before. Not once. He also seems to know how to keep his thoughts a secret from me. Very peculiar and not very trustworthy."

"Lennex's smile dipped a little but retorted. "Ah but trying to pry into someone's thoughts could be seen and untrustworthy couldn't it?"

"Not when I'm trying to see if you're a threat or a friend. The boys mind is open and from what I have gathered from him, you've told him quite a story, and now your here to get the Senzu beans. It doesn't appear your hurt very badly. Why should I give you the beans? Especially when I have no way to verify that you are who you say you are"

This time the smile left Lennex's face altogether. This was going to be harder then he though. Bulma told him not to mess up the timeline, and he had so far done a good job of keeping to that request. But how much damage would it be to let Korin know the future. Someone who was going to live the next five hundred years and have knowledge of things to come. He had thought about this and came up that it wouldn't be a good idea. No matter how trustworthy Korin was, knowing the future would be bad.

"I have my reasons, Master, but as you have seen in the boys thoughts, we have friends who are in trouble. The life or death kind. If I can't restore myself fully, there's a good chance this young demon is going to loose his second family."

Korin looked upon Shippo again and spoke without looking away. "If you are from the future, like you have told this kid, what makes you think he isn't supposed to loose his friends to this fate?"

The statement shook Shippo to his core. Were his friends supposed to die? Was he destined to live on alone in the world? Lennex summed up his thoughts and spoke them.

"I refuse to believe that. They are good people who have been fighting evil for quite a while now. I refuse to think the Kai's would damn them to a death before they were able to complete their mission!"

"Death isn't picky on who it takes, whether it's good or bad people. When it's their time, they die."

Lennex was speechless for a moment. Five hundred years can change someone. Apparently Korin was a bit frosty in the past. This time Shippo joined the fight.

"Listen, Lennex told me that we could help my friends if we found you. We have, all we want is a little help so I can save my friends, no my family. Please help us."

"Believe me kid, if it was just you, I'd be really tempted to help. But this guy gives me pause for concern. I don't like people hiding their thoughts from me. It makes me think they have something to hide."

"I do have something to hide, the future. I'm not going to be the one responsible for screwing up my time. Things will happen naturally like you said. But I have to help these people. They could be in for a long and hard fight really soon against an enemy they aren't familiar with but I am. I want to help them." Lennex tried again.

"Hmmp, what do you mean could be?" Korin asked. The cat walked up to the railing and looked out across the land. "The fight you're talking about has already started. Or was all the training you were giving this kid just a lot of talk on your part?"

Both Shippo and Lennex started. Shippo ran to stand by Korin looking out but Lennex stayed in the center of the room closing his eyes and reaching out with his senses. He picked up a lot of demon energies scattered throughout the land. A few stronger then normal humans and...

His eyes shot open and he heard Shippo inhale sharply. They had both felt high demon energy in one area, not to far from where they stood. The recognized Naraku's demon signature along with duplicates of his signature. They felt Inuyasha's demon energy peaking, meaning he was in or preparing for a fight. And then there as a normal Ki signature that Lennex was familiar with. It was a lot bigger then it was the last time he had felt it. Kalin had improved his power, or he was using more of those shards. Either way, his new friends were in trouble.

0-0-0-0-0

"Windscar!" Inuyasha shouted as he swung the Tetsusaiga downward in the apex of his jump. The energy tendrils flashed from his sword and quickly shot to were Kalin was. When it impacted a cloud of dust and dirt erupted around Kalin, making him invisible. Inuyasha landed but kept his sword at the ready. When the battle had started, Kalin had charged to meet them in the first melee. Only when he was close to them he all but disappeared from view. It brought the three heroes up short, and the hesitation was their first downfall. Kalin had appeared behind them, kicking out at Inuyasha's back, sending the half demon crashing forward into the ground.

Miroku swung his staff at the threat now behind them. The staff stopped moving as Kalin reached out and caught it mid swing. Miroku tried to wrench it from Kalin's grasp. He didn't budge at all. He did yank the staff forward and gave Miroku a hard uppercut when he stumbled forward due to the pull on his weapon. The monk was thrown back and landed in a heap. Kalin turn just in time to receive the business end of Hiraikotsu to his stomach. Sango had a look of satisfaction on her face as she connected with Kalin, swinging her weapon like a club. The satisfaction disappeared to shock and disbelief as Kalin calmly smiled at her after being hit. He backhanded her and sent her rolling away, the giant bone boomerang falling to his feet. He kicked the weapon out of his way in disgust. That's when he heard the half demons attack, he turned and looked up and braced himself. The attack hit and sent up walls of dirt and vegetation all around him.

Inuyasha glanced quickly at his friends. Kagome was still back behind them in a defensive posture, arrow knocked but not aimed. Sango was just sitting up and rubbing her jaw, while he saw Miroku roll over to his stomach and push himself up, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. He looked back to the site were the Windscar had blown a crater into the earth. He should have been smelling blood and charred flesh by now, but he still could only smell the bastard's normal scent. And when the haze had cleared, he saw him, without a scratch.

Kalin grinned ear to ear and spoke. "Amazing what a couple more shards will do for a person."

Inuyasha rushed forward, pushing his speed as fast as he could go and swung the mighty fang in a downward stroke. Kalin however was faster and seemed to blur to the side, missing the attack. Inuyasha tried to swing again but his attack met with empty air, and Kalin smiling at him from a different location. It was enough to piss the half demon off into growling.

Then Sango was on the attack, throwing the Hiraikotsu directly at Kalin. The boomerang spun straight at him with Sango running behind the weapon in its wake, unsheathing her katana. Inuyasha saw Miroku, now back on his feet flanking Kalin and getting ready to rush his blind spot now that he was focused on Sango. This left an air attack open for Inuyasha. The half demon took to the air once again and came down right above Kalin. He grinned to himself, Kalin may be fast, but he'd not get out of a three pronged attack without a scratch. Or so he thought.

Kagome watched from her position and cringed. In what seemed like a blink of an eye Kalin had reached out and caught the Hiraikotsu, stopping it dead in its tracks before flinging it upwards so quick, that Inuyasha didn't have time to register the movement before he was being carried up and away from Kalin, the pain blossoming into his side as the weapon crashed into him and sent him away. Sango narrowed her eyes and prepared to cut Kalin down with her sword. She went in low for an upward slash. The blade swung upwards and was stopped as Kalin quickly kicked the weapon off course. As soon as he did that he spun to his left. The kick sent Sango's attack wide and unbalanced her, and with Kalin moving out of the way, her and her sword were heading straight for Miroku.

Miroku saw this and used his staff to direct the point of the sword away from his abdomen and then releasing his staff with one hand, caught Sango and steadied her with the other. They turned back to the enemy and found him almost in their faces. He struck out with a left fist, catching Miroku on the jaw, while kneeing Sango in the stomach. Both fighters falling to the powerful blows. Kalin laughed as he turned back to Inuyasha. The half demon had just gotten up from the hard landing and was approaching cautiously. He would play with them a while longer before ending their lives. This was almost too much fun. Kalin laughed again as he sped towards Inuyasha, bringing the fight to him.

0-0-0-0

"Hmm that man seems to be putting your friends through the paces doesn't he?" Korin spoke. They had crowded around what appeared to be a basin of water in one of the smaller rooms connected to the main area. Upon the waters surface Korin had been able to conjure the image of the small valley that was just to the east of them The distance, Lennex figured, couldn't have been more then forty miles. They watched as Kalin laid out Sango and Miroku and then go after Inuyasha again.

"This is why I have to have that bean Korin. This guy may be too much for them." Lennex bit out a little angrier then he had intended.

Korin, however, didn't seem to mind. In fact he maintained the calm exterior the entire time they had been there. "You don't think much of your new friends' skills, is that it?" he asked the Sayjin.

"It's not that at all. But with the jewel shards augmenting his power, he is stronger then all of them combine. If he had a few less shards then ya they wouldn't have a problem. I need to help them. Please, just one bean. If not for me, do it for the kid." Lennex said pointing towards Shippo, whose eyes were glued to the basin.

"I hate to say it, but I still don't trust you. You could be an enemy posing for a friend for all I know." Korin replied, also watching the young demon.

"Then put me through your tests. The ones you have for claiming a Senzu bean or your training."

Korin took his eyes off the fox to look at the man. "Again you speak of things that I have only thought about but have never done. Either you're from the future like you saying or you really can see into my mind. There are no tests as you say, but I did think about putting a system like that in effect, but not for another few hundred years, when man is ready to make that leap into its training."

Lennex tried to contain his frustration as best he could. The agitation wasn't helping the situation, or the wound on his side. He checked it again to find that blood was still oozing out around the bandages. Thankfully he hadn't bleed all over the tower. "Normally I'd agree with your assessment of the human race, but look at this guy, he's light-years ahead of were he should be and it's all because of Naraku's interference. So let me interfere and even the odds."

"Or you could tip the scales totally in this Naraku's favor because you could be working for him."

Lennex wanted to smash his head into the side of the stone tower. This was looping back to the whole cant read your mind problem. He tried to think of another argument when he heard Shippo cry out Kagome's name. Lennex went to the basin and watched events unfold. He looked up at Shippo who looked like he wanted to leave. He couldn't blame the kit that. He had done his part by getting him here. Now maybe he could help the rest with what he had taught him.

"Go help them Shippo. I'll be along when I can." Lennex said. Shippo didn't need to be told twice and he ran out of the small room and jumped over the railing falling towards the ground, transforming into his seagull form.

"Brave kid." Korin said as he too took up vigil of the basin.

If the situation wasn't so serious, Lennex entertained the notion of jumping off after Shippo, without his powers.

0-0-0-0

Inuyasha was moving in for an attack when Kalin seemed to blink from where he was standing to right in front of the half demon. Inuyasha backpedaled, cursing as he went and struck out with his claws instead of his sword. They connected but didn't draw blood, a first for Inuyasha. He tried getting his sword around for another attack but Kalin had other Ideas. He reached forward and grabbed Inuyasha by his neck hoisting him up, while grabbing his sword arm with his other hand. Inuyasha tried lashing out with his legs in hope that he would be dropped. Kalin's grip however remained firm. The half demon continued to struggle until he noticed the spots that were starting to appear before his eyes. The bastard was cutting off his air. Kalin grinned up at Inuyasha, squeezing more around his neck. He watched as the half demon dropped his sword due to lack of air.

"MOVE!" The voice echoed inside of Kalin's head and he knew to obey it immediately. He dropped Inuyasha and quickly shot to the left, making it look as if he blurred from existence. Inuyasha dropped to the ground going flat and taking a deep breath. He was thankful he didn't land on his feet when he saw an arrow, enveloped in a pinkish light fly by. He tried sitting up to look at its source.

Kagome already had another arrow readied and aimed at Kalin as he gazed back at her, the voice in his head urging him to go to the girl now. That she held a secret from him. He noticed the three fighters that he had put down already starting to regain their feet. He would deal with this girl quickly and then have some more fun.

Kagome's eyes widened when Kalin was beside her now. He grabbed he wrist, causing the bow to fall from her grasp and pulled her to him, his other hand tracing the hem of her shirt before slipping up underneath it. Kagome didn't think her eyes could get any wider, she was wrong.

Inuyasha saw this and was instantly on his feet, adrenalin doing wonders for him. "Kagome!" he cried out running towards the girl and he attack, hell bent on ripping him to shreds for this offense. He could see his hand under Kagome's shirt and he could see the hand moving around. Through his rage at this act a small part of his brain fed him some information. The movements didn't appear to be in a sexual sense. It was almost as if they were searching for something.

Kalin grinned as his hand came in contact with the hard object just above the girls breasts. He quickly yanked and felt the strap give way. He turned toward the incoming Inuyasha and casually threw Kagome at him. Inuyasha caught her and came to a stop, still seething with anger. He then noticed Kalin smiling at an object in his hand, his brain finally putting together what it was he was doing to Kagome.

Kalin stared at the pouch he had in his hand, feeling all the shards inside it. This would almost double his collection. The voice in his head told him she was carrying something under her shirt and it had been correct. He placed the pouch in with his own jewel collection. The voice told him one more thing. That playtime was over. That it was time to rid himself of these pests. His aura flared up around him as he rose from the ground. He looked down at his opponents, raising his arms. Globes of energy appeared before his outstretched hands.

Inuyasha saw the energy appear and cursed silently to himself. He started running, Kagome in his arms as the first blast left Kalin and hit the ground just behind him. Sango and Miroku split off into two as they saw their own blast coming their way. Kalin kept firing at them. The blasts would injure, but not powerful enough to kill really. He was still having some fun with them. Watching them run and scatter to avoid being hit.

Inuyasha quickly made his way over to where he had dropped the Tetsusaiga and picked it back up. He then dodged another blast and ran towards the tree line. He set Kagome down and told her to stay back. Kalin wouldn't fire at her hopefully if she wasn't out in the open. Kagome nodded and Inuyasha jumped away from raising his sword and letting loose a Windscar. The energy collided with an orb of Ki energy and the two canceled each other out. Kalin raised his eyebrow in acknowledgment before firing a blast with more power behind it. Inuyasha tried the same tactic but this time the blast tore through the Windscar. He had just enough time to leap away without being incinerated. The blast however when it impacted sent a shockwave out that twisted him in the air. Inuyasha landed hard on the ground.

Kalin then turned his attention towards the other two. The girl was making her way back to her weapon while the monk was running to get under him.

Stupid.

He charged another blast and fired. Miroku looked up at the incoming energy and quickly grabbed the prayer beads on his right hand, ripping them off and freeing his wind tunnel. There were no Saimyoushou around. Naraku must be slipping. The orb of energy accelerated even faster as the void pulled it in. The tunnel of air even started to pull Kalin down a little bit. He had to exert some power to keep afloat. Then the energy blast hit the void and disappeared.

Miroku knew now that Naraku was not slipping. He didn't need his poison insects around to neutralize the wind tunnel. The minute that the blast passed through his hand, the high concentration of energy was like a mini sun. And the heat was almost comparable. His flesh blistered and peeled when the energy was sucked in. The only saving grace was that it went in quick. But the burns hurt none the less. He quickly wrapped the beads around his hand sealing the curse once more, then cradled his hand against his body and willed the pain to go away as she dropped to his knees in momentary anguish.

0-0-0-0-0

Lennex watched Miroku sink to the ground, his face a grimace of pain. He looked over at Korin and spoke. "You still think these people are 'destined' to die?" he bit out. Korin stood unfazed by the taunt and returned with "Do you still plan on hiding your intentions from me."

Lennex turned back to watch, a war raging inside him. The cat was defiantly not trustworthy back in this time and he was stuck on Lennex not allowing him to enter his mind and read his thoughts. He didn't want to pollute the time line and cause changes to it. But he didn't want his friends to die. He had only known them a short time but he just had a feeling about them. They were defenders of this time's Earth, the same as he and his group were defenders in the future. He watched as a beam of light different from the energy orbs flashed from Kalin's hand. It sliced into Sango's calf, dropping the girl onto the ground. She tried to pick herself back up using only one leg, favoring the other. Kalin raised another orb and was getting ready to throw it at her, both of them knowing she had no way of avoiding it this time, and her friends were too spaced out to help her. She didn't turn away from Kalin however, and continued to stare at him defiantly, facing death like a true warrior.

Lennex was about to see one of his new friends die. He refused to let that happen.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." he muttered as he let down the guards in his mind, opening up his thoughts to Korin.

0-0-0-0-0

Sango knew this was the end. But she refused to give Naraku the benefit of watching her die weak. The orb left Kalin's hand and she watched it speed closer to her. This was it. A weight hit the back of her legs, causing her to fall backwards, her hands flailed out automatically to grab for anything to slow her fall. They came in contact with fur. The blast impacted the ground blowing another hole into it, but Sango was no longer there. Kalin sneered as he observed the exterminator floating in the air atop her pet.

Sango, realizing what had happened, gave Kirara a squeeze in thanks and then sited in her enemy again, Kirara doing the same. The fire cat was not happy that her master was almost killed. They saw Inuyasha running along the ground, his sword taking on a silvery sheen to it. Using signals from years of practice Sango silently guided Kirara to drop out of the sky and head off to Miroku just as Inuyasha swung his sword.

"Adamant Barrage!" He called out as he swung, thousands of diamond shards flying from his sword towards Kalin. For the first time in this confrontation, Kalin's face registered shock. This attack was new to him. He raised an energy shield, but the projectiles hammered against it, some making their way through. He was able to maneuver to keep from getting hit by all but one of the shards. It cut a grove just under his left eye.

Kalin brought his hand to his face and wiped the blood away. He stared at it for a moment before forming another energy ball, vaporizing the blood on his hand. This one was much bigger then the last ones, almost the size of a child and twice as round. He then threw it at the half demon who had managed to draw his blood once again.

0-0-0-0

Lennex saw Kirara save Sango in the water basin, but it was already too late. His shields were down and Korin had taken his fill. Lennex wouldn't have changed his decision however. Enough was enough; he had to help here and now, even if it was his past. The cat deity looked a little shaken up. Lennex had not lived through all five hundred years that separated their respective times, but he knew a lot of the major events in history. Including the stories of Goku and the enemies he would face to protect Earth. It must have been a lot to take in. But it got the result he was hoping for.

"It's good to see I haven't started graying, five hundred years in the future." he said weakly, a lame attempt at humor to cover his discomfort at all the new knowledge he had received.

"I know it's a lot to take in Master Korin, but I really need one of those Senzu beans."

Korin looked up at Lennex and nodded lifted his hand. In it were two green beans. "Take two, you may need them. I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously."

Lennex took the beans, pocketing one and quickly eating the other. "Don't worry Korin, everyone is still alive, so it's not too late. He felt the beans restorative effects hit him almost immediately. He tried raising his power level and this time there was no wave of weakness. Not at first. There was still something there that wasn't right, something that felt as if his powers were being drained, but a lot more slowly. The difference this time was; he could use his power fully now. He waved at Korin before taking the same path Shippo had and dove over the side of the tower going into freefall, pressing a few buttons on his watch. Korin walked up to the rail in time to see Lennex's body falling straight down and then suddenly it was wrapped in a white nimbus of energy as he blasted off towards the horizon, an contrail of energy in his wake.

"Good Luck." The cat said before turning around

0-0-0-0-0

The energy blast hurtled towards Inuyasha, but the half demon didn't budge. He was sick of running. He readied his Tetsusaiga and tried to see where the energies collided. He almost didn't make it, since the energy was different from demons energy. But at the last moment he saw the scar and swung his sword at it.

"Backlash Wave!" He cried out. The results were spectacular. The normal backlash wave reversed the energy in a reverse direction, causing multiple tornadoes of energy to spread out towards the attacks origin. This time however there were no tornadoes of energy, but a giant explosion. Energy beams flew out of the collision striking everywhere.

Kalin had to erect and energy shield to block the beams that came back towards him. Inuyasha ducked and dodged the best he could while Kirara took Sango and the newly picked up Miroku and flew as fast as she could to get them out of danger.

This upset Kalin all the more and he started throwing beams left and right at the ground towards Inuyasha and in the air at his aerial opponents. It took everything they had to keep from getting hit.

Kagome watched this from the tree line, worried about her friends out there risking their lives. She hated cowering like a frightened girl. She looked around at the cliff face and saw that everyone up there had their eyes on the chaos. And then she saw her bow. It was were she had dropped it still and out of the combat area. She sprinted towards it, keeping an eye on everything so as not to get caught. She reached it in moments and took it up, knocked an arrow and aimed. She let it fly and the pink aura of her purification powers enveloped the arrow. It would have hit Kalin in the back if he hadn't of turned to fire another blast at Inuyasha. He quickly veered away and the arrow flew harmlessly past him. He turned to stare at the girl and Kagome knew she was in trouble.

Inuyasha saw what had Kalin's attention and it felt as if his heart had fallen to his stomach. "Kagome, run!" he cried as he started for her. Miroku, Sango and Kirara also headed toward their friend from the future as quick as they could.

Kalin however made up his mind about her. She had to die. He threw his hands up and an energy ball formed above his head. It was twice the size of a normal beach ball and then threw it without hesitation. Kagome saw it coming and if the fear hadn't have frozen her in place; she knew that running would have done any good. She saw her friends trying to get to her, but knew they were not going to be able to reach her. The globe of energy raced towards her.

She closed her eyes and waited for what was to come, listening to Inuyasha's panicked cry.

"KAGOME!"


	12. Showdown

_A/n Well folks here is the next chapter and also the next three afterwards to complete the story. I had a stroke of inspiration and was able to nail the end of the story in quick succession. Enjoy _

**Chapter 12: Showdown**

"KAGOME!"

Kagome's eye's snapped open when her name was called the second time, not from the valley across from her, but from above and behind her. The energy blast was almost on top of her now, the one that would end her short life, when a form swooped out of the sky. It looked like a bird but with a popping noise the bird changed form into the familiar shape of the fox kit she had grown to love. Shippo landed in front of her and raised his hands towards the incoming blast.

"Fox Fire!" he cried and to Kagome's amazement, as well as all the onlookers, an azure blaze swept up around Shippo and Kagome, forming a flaming dome. The Energy blast connected with the dome, and time seemed to freeze. The initial impact almost caused Shippo to pass out. This was nothing like rocks or water. He figured the only real reason he maintained the shield was his fierce desire to protect Kagome. The two energies flickered and snapped against each other for domination. Kalin's orb crushing down into the fiery dome.

Shippo pushed back as hard as he could, but he could tell that the blast would break through if he tried using brute force. He could feel the energy impacting his shield and started to use the technique Lennex had shown him. The energy instead of staying in one point on the shield, started wrapping around it and flowing off harmlessly. Shippo continued to divert the energy around his shield watching as the orb grew smaller and smaller until finally it was gone.

He had done it. He saved Kagome. He let the shield drop, falling to his knees, and wiping the beads of sweat that had accumulated across his forehead. It wasn't much longer before his friends joined them. Inuyasha went straight for Kagome, to make sure she was ok. Sango and Miroku touched down on Kirara and while glancing at Kagome to see that she was not harmed, their eyes rested on Shippo. The fox gave them a little grin as he continued to catch his breath. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to stare directly into the golden eyes of Inuyasha. Shippo was vaguely aware of Kagome smiling down at him from Inuyasha's side, but the thing that had his attention was the look of pride and joy in Inuyasha's eyes.

"Looks like you're not totally useless after all runt." He spoke to Shippo. But while the words were nonchalant, Shippo could hear the real emotion behind them. He had surprised his friends and came through when it counted. The rest of his friends started to ask him questions along the lines of where he had learned this new trick, and a few questions about where he had left Lennex and what had happened on their journey. Shippo would have been glad to answer them all, but a loud scream interrupted them.

They looked into the sky to see Kalin; his arms raised and head tilted back, shouting at the top of his lungs. His aura seemed to increase and flicker violently around him, looking as if it was getting stronger still. He finally stopped shouting and looked back down at them

"Glad to finally have your attention back you fools. The little demon deflected one blast, and the effort almost toppled him. I wonder if he has the stamina to do it again." He dropped his hands towards them, another orb starting to form.

The group tensed, knowing what was coming. Shippo knew that Kalin was right, another blast like that and there was no way he could stop it. He'd need to train a lot more to do this on a regular basis. He could also feel the power building into this next ball of raw power. It was slowly rising to the power of the previous one, but Shippo knew it would be stronger, just so Kalin could prove his point. The rest seemed to know it also. He watched Miroku dismount Kirara, but remain by Sango's side, knowing she couldn't really walk on her injured leg. He gripped his hand, which Shippo could now see was badly burned, but readied to use the wind tunnel to protect his friends if he had to. He watched as Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga and readied it in a defensive stance. He watched Kagome knock an arrow and Sango ready the Hiraikotsu.

Shippo understood one thing in that moment. The gestures were not just his friends being brave, or refusing to go down without a fight. They all knew that their attacks were not phasing this enemy, but they were not thinking about themselves. They were thinking about each other. Trying to save each other instead of themselves. It's what drove their desire to fight, and it's what made these individuals a real family. It was something Shippo could gladly accept and make his own. He stood even with his friends instead of behind them like normal, and summoned his fox magic. The fire started to glow around his hands, a physical representation to his power. He could see his friends glance out of the corner of their eyes at him and nod their approval. Inuyasha voiced their thoughts.

"Glad to have you with us Shippo." he said and tightened the grip on his sword once more as he watched Kalin's energy orb expand at an alarming rate. It was now the size of a large boulder. They could see swirls of energy coursing through it as if it were alive.

Kalin looked down at them and saw their futile gestures of resistance. "Try blocking this one!" He called out and prepared to throw the killing blow.

A sizzling sound from the east caused Kalin to glance in that direction and what he saw made him loose all concentration on his own attack. He quickly flew backwards, his energy attack dissipating due to lack of concentration as another Ki blast came rocketing forward. Kalin dodged the attack and watched in surprise and shock as it impacted into the cliff face underneath his partners.

What had once been delight and satisfaction turned into shock and dismay in the eyes of Naraku and his group. The blast impacted below their feet and vaporized the rock, causing the ground beneath them to crumble and fall. Kohaku quickly grabbed onto Kanna and leapt backwards, finding solid ground once more. Naraku and Hakadoshi stood next to each other as a barrier formed around them, keeping them afloat. Kagura, seeing the two safe cursed Naraku as she fell. It wouldn't have taken him any more power to include her in the field but instead he let her fend for herself. She quickly grabbed a feather from her hair and transformed it into a large feather boat that could ride the wind. She rose up next to Naraku, glaring at her master. How she despised him right now. But Naraku wasn't paying attention to her. He slowly set down next to Kohaku and the barrier faded. She followed suit and jumped out of her floating feather and looked at what had Naraku's attention. Like Naraku, the site caused her to frown.

From the valley floor, another group looked up into the sky, only with them, what they saw brought smiles to their faces. Especially Shippo's.

"It's about time you finally got here!" The fox called out, laughter in his every word.

Kalin, after seeing his master safe on a stable part of the cliff face quickly turned back after hearing Shippo. He looked in the direction the blast had come from and he could no longer keep surprise from his face. A man floated in the air, close enough to be seen easily, but still a good distance from himself. This stranger wore almost the same pants as Kalin wore, but instead of a vest, he wore what looked to be a tight fitting black shirt covered by an outer gi top. The colors of the outer shirt and pants were a dark blue. Around his wrists were blue bands, designed to keep sweat from slicking up the hands in a fight. This man had his arms crossed and smirked at Kalin in absolute insolence. He quickly dropped to the ground to stand next the half demon and his friends. Watching this man do everything Kalin had been able to do was enough to send him into a momentary lapse of action.

Naraku cursed his indecision. He recognized this man. He was the one that had dared to glare at him, the night Kalin had made his appearance at Inuyasha's village. He should have killed him then and there. If he had done so, Inuyasha would be dead by now.

As Lennex landed on the ground, he noticed his new friends staring at him with wide eyes. He noticed their injuries right away and cringed inwardly. Had he been any later... He chose not to think on that. Like he had told Korin on his departure, no one was dead so there was still time to help out. He looked down at Shippo.

"Nice job Shippo. As I was racing here, I could feel you using the shield technique. I was on edge for the first part of that little battle, but I'm glad you pulled through like I taught you."

"You and me both!" Kagome piped up. Inuyasha nodded and looked at Lennex. 

"The runt was able to save Kagome with whatever it is that you taught him."

Lennex grinned ear to ear and said "I told you I'd have your mind changed on how useful he was in a fight."

Inuyasha made a noise that sounded something keh and turned away, but Lennex saw the pride in his eyes. He knew Inuyasha wouldn't doubt Shippo again. He greeted both Miroku and Sango, and saw the bruises on both their faces, among other injuries.

Kalin watched this entire interaction from the air and finally had had enough. He formed a ball of energy, no were near as big as the one he was forced to abandon and fired. The blast raced for the group on the ground.

Inuyasha noticed it first and the rest quickly saw it for themselves. The only one who didn't see it was Lennex, who had his back turned and was still talking to Miroku and Sango about the way they looked tired and worn out from their journey. The blast was almost on top of them when Lennex calmly turned to present his profile to the energy ball, and just as calmly raised his hand and backhand the lethal ball of Ki. The blow sent the destructive blast harmlessly off towards the horizon before disappearing from view, and Lennex did all this without missing a beat in his sentence.

"So I think you guys should rest up a bit. Sit this one out and let me handle this guy." Lennex said throwing a thumb over his shoulder at the now gaping Kalin.

"Do me a favor though and keep an eye on our friends on the cliff. I don't want any surprises from them."

Inuyasha nodded looking up at Naraku. He seemed to be in the same state as Kalin was, and secretly Inuyasha was a bit beside himself also. The trouble they had had with those attacks, and Lennex just knocked it away without paying hardly any attention to it.

The group nodded their agreement to the new plan, thankful for the reprieve.

Lennex smiled again and turned around, rising up into the air until he was level with Kalin.

"It seems I wasn't the only one working on raising their power in this land." Kalin stated flatly. The man across from him smiled back at him

"You could say that. Although I didn't have to cheat to raise my power by using pieces of a magical jewel." The barb was untrue. Lennex had used the Dragonballs to transform himself into a Sayjin to gain the power he needed at the time, but Kalin didn't know that, and the jab worked. Kalin immediately bristled and the same purplish black aura flared up around him. His power level rising as he got angry. Lennex didn't mind though. After all, this was a whole new ball game.

A bright white aura flared up around Lennex, showing Kalin that the game wasn't going to be as easy anymore. It flickered and flared just as Kalin's did.

"Shall we begin?" Lennex asked mockingly.

Kalin darted forward. To the onlookers on the cliffs and ground, it looked as if he disappeared and then reappeared right in front of Lennex, throwing his right hand into Lennex's face, only Lennex wasn't there anymore. In the same blink of an eye Lennex had seemed to blur out and was now behind Kalin. Kalin spun around to receive a blow to the face. The attack sent Kalin spiraling through the air before he was able to right himself and stop his flight. He looked back and saw Lennex once again grinning. He heard the cheers from the ground, egging Lennex on.

Inuyasha couldn't help joining the rest of his friends in their cheers at the first solid hit scored on Kalin. He thought he maybe would have felt a little annoyed at not being able to take care of his own fight, but Inuyasha was smart enough to understand that these powers were new and different then a demon's normal abilities. While his Iron Reaver, Blades of Blood, and most notably, his Adamant Barrage attack were able to cut through the man's defenses, the blatant speed and ease at which these two men were flying around in the sky, and slamming into each other, was quite different indeed. He continued to watch as Lennex and Kalin traded blows again.

Lennex increased his speed to the point of blurring out from his original position and racing to appear right in front of Kalin, leg bent and ready to deliver a side kick. The kick met empty air as Kalin disappeared. Lennex cursed himself for being to careless when something slammed into his back. He quickly turned to see Kalin behind him.

"Look familiar." The man asked him and Lennex realized that in the short time they were fighting, Kalin had learned the maneuver he had first used against him. Maybe the jewel wasn't the only strength Kalin had after all. Lennex zipped forward and threw a right cross connecting with Kalin's face, sending him soaring to the left. Lennex followed and hit him again, changing direction of his flight to upwards in the air. Lennex raced past Kalin and stopped above him, readying a strike to send Kalin crashing to the ground.

Kalin had other ideas. He saw his enemy above him and quickly reached out, his hands closed around Lennex's ankles and Kalin stopped his momentum and started spinning. The move caught the Sayjin off guard and Lennex found himself being swung around. Kalin let go and watched his opponent spin down to the ground. When Lennex hit, the Earth shook and an explosion of rock and dirt flew into the sky and fell back to rest.

Kagome put her had to her mouth in shock as she watched Lennex disappear into the ground. The people around her also started at the blow. Moments later they were able to relax as the dust cleared and they saw Lennex standing in the crater he made, calmly brushing the dirt from his clothes. He looked over at them and winked before blasting off the ground to reengage Kalin. The two traded punches and kicks so fast that their audience was unable to follow the movements.

Lennex had to admit that Kalin was good. In his own time he may have been able to become a great fighter, but instead he took the easy way out by dealing with Naraku. But during the fight Lennex had steadily put more and more into his moves and power, and Kalin had kept up with him. Impressive indeed, but Lennex was a Sayjin, and there was no way Kalin would be able to compete with that kind of power. Lennex went into a punch combo followed by a reverse kick, and was surprised at the ease at which Kalin had evaded the move. Kalin had been doing that lately to him. There were certain moves that Kalin was blindsided by and then there were moves that he seemed to be able to come out of without a scratch. Lennex tried to find a pattern to his discovery but had to put it on hold as Kalin came in throwing kick after kick at Lennex's head.

Lennex evaded the blows and counterattacked. Once again, some of his moves met with success, while others met with utter failure. He started experimenting with some of his techniques. Mixing some combos from Piccolo's fighting style with that of Goku's or Vegeta's and then repeated the process merging his three fighting styles. He mostly used them in conjunction, but for some reason that wasn't working this time. After a few more trial and errors he was able to make an educated guess. Every blow he tried using Goku's techniques were shrugged off or blocked easily. He would have to stop using that style all together. It was a good thing he had two other styles to draw from. Well three if you counted his martial arts training when he was a human. He would have pondered the thought further but Kalin was back on the offensive.

He dodged each blow, quite content with his head attached to his body and readied for a counter attack. If Lennex was right, Kalin had reached his limit. During the brief skirmish he had steadily increased his power and Lennex matched him. It was time to finish this.

Lennex kicked out, sending his attacker away from him and quickly shot his power to the max, just below the barrier of Super Sayjin. He felt a small tug in the back of his mind when he accessed the power. That invisible wall was trying to rebuild itself, but luckily Lennex was able to keep it down. The higher he went however, the stronger the wall tried to come back. He ignored it for the time being, knowing that in a few moments it would all be over. He finished powering up and a white aura appeared around him during the increase. He looked calmly down at Kalin.

"This ends now, you can't beat me, and you never could." Lennex called out. Kalin's face turned red in anger and his power shot up a little more, but no were near strong enough to compete. Kalin struck and struck but never once hit Lennex. The Sayjin calmly crossed his arms and moved only when necessary. A head roll to the left, turning to his side, to let a kick fly by. He learned this little trick from Vegeta. Look as if your opponent was boring you, and he would become angry enough to make a mistake. Not that Lennex needed a mistake to win this, but he liked rubbing it in Kalin's face that he wasn't as strong as he thought he was.

Kalin gave a warriors cry and punched straight forward, putting everything he had into his punch. This time Lennex didn't move and the fist connected on Lennex's right cheekbone. Everyone, including Kalin, gasped in surprise as Lennex calmly stared back at Kalin. The fist still outstretched in the punch, but Lennex's head didn't even twitch. To Lennex, the blow felt as if a feather had fallen on his cheek. He couldn't resist another barb.

"That all you got?" He bit out, trying his best to sound as cold and cruel as Vegeta did when facing an enemy.

Kalin gritted his teeth and quickly put some distance between them, charging up and energy blast. He fired and the ball hit Lennex with the same effect as the punch. Kalin fired again and again, each blast coming faster then the next, showing the desperation he was feeling in trying to regain control of the fight that, minuets earlier, he had been winning.

Lennex just sat there in the air, taking each blast without a problem. Shippo stared up at his friend and knew that he would definitely have to work to make his shield that strong, but at least he had perception. Shippo was able to see, or rather feel the energy barrier that Lennex had formed around him. His barrier was almost a second skin and that's why his friends were seeing the blasts hit him and not harm him. Shippo was grateful for the new skills he had once again. He watched as Kalin willed another energy blast into existence with both hands and hurled it at Lennex.

The blast exploded on contact and when the smoke went away Lennex continued to float in the air and remain unfazed. Kalin started to sweat, his mind racing for a way to beat this new opponent. He tried to calm himself; he knew he couldn't think straight in a panic. But the man kept throwing out insults that clouded his better judgment. Like now.

"Pathetic," Lennex called out, letting his arms drop to hang at his side. "I thought you were supposed to be good. I thought someone with all these magical jewel shards would be a little stronger then this. I guess that jewel is useless against someone with my power."

Kalin froze. That was it, the answer to his problem. Kalin let a smile finally surface on his face and he reached inside his vest.

Lennex was a little confused about the smile he was receiving. Kalin had been almost hysterical up till now. He heard a girl's voice calling up to him from the ground. He looked down to see Kagome waving her arms. He lowered himself down a little so he could hear her.

"He isn't using all of the shards! He's only drawing power on less the half of what he has!"

Lennex whipped his head around to look at Kalin. He continued to hover over the ground and Lennex watched as he dumped pinkish glass shards out of two bags into his open hand. There must have been close to thirteen shards in his hand now. Kalin gazed upon the shards before glancing up at Lennex, their eyes locking for a brief moment. The silent communication was brief but Lennex got the message. The real fight was about to begin.

Kalin jammed the shards into his chest, blood seeping between his fingers as the shards pierced his flesh. He threw his head back and screamed as his aura appeared around him, this time going so black, that the purple was barely visible. Lennex felt his power skyrocket and crossed his arms in front of his face as dirt and debris was whipped around in the small maelstrom that was caused by Kalin's power spike. It was over almost as quick as it began, and Lennex stared at his new and improved enemy. The aura continued to flare and small jagged bits of purple electricity ran over the aura. Kalin's eyes glowed a deep dark purple, a testament to the corrupted jewel shards that now gave him power.

Kagome gasped as she watched each shard turn black as night, becoming tainted by this man who was under Naraku's control. Even the ones she had purified fell to the raw negative emotions Kalin held. She looked at Lennex and hoped he had some more tricks up his sleeve. She may not have had the benefit of the training Shippo had, but even she could feel the energy emanating from Kalin.

Kalin gazed at Lennex and smiled lazily. "Shall we continue our match?" He called out softly

Lennex stared back and uttered the only thing that came to his mind.

"Oh shit."


	13. The Shikon Jewel Vs A Super Sayjin

**Chapter 13: Legends Collide; the Shikon Jewel vs. A Super Sayjin**

"It's true what they say; fools really do bring about their own downfall." Naraku chuckled. He had been a little worried about the turn of events. A very rare thing for him, since even before a plan was put into action, every detail of that plan was gone over meticulously. His plans didn't so much as fail, but took secondary objectives that were just as important as the primary goal. This time however the appearance of this man was something he didn't count on. The way he handled himself made Naraku wish it was him under the control of the shards. He was just about to nudge Kalin's mind to use his remaining shards when the fool had suggested the idea in his own round about way. Now Naraku could see that the game was in his favor once again. He continued to watch, chuckling under his breath.

0-0-0-0

The wind whipped across the valley floor and Inuyasha stood in front of Kagome shielding her from the twigs, rocks, and dirt that were flying around. He saw Miroku do the same for Sango with his monk robes. She shot him a grateful look and patted Kirara, who turned her head to keep anything from flying into her eyes. Inuyasha looked down at Shippo and for the second time today he was more then a little awed at his short companion. The fox stood there without taking cover, but what amazed Inuyasha was the fact that the debris blowing around was bouncing off a small cocoon of energy around him. This time it was smaller and only around him, but the effect was the same. He shook his head and glared back at the cause for all the wind. Kalin's newest power spike was flaring so violently it was producing this windstorm. He could hear behind him, the leaves and branches being knocked around. He wished Lennex luck, because now it looked as if he was going to need it.

0-0-0-0-0

"Those are exactly the words I would have used." Kalin said as he seemingly jumped forward. This time it was too fast for Lennex to follow and the result of that involved Kalin's knee doing its best to send his stomach flying out the small of back.

Lennex folded over Kalin's knee and tried to regain his wits as a blinding pain lanced down his neck. A white light flashed before his eyes, due to the pain, but when it cleared he saw the ground rushing up to meet him. He tried slowing himself down, but it was too late. He landed hard, sinking the ground around him a few feet, making another crater in this once peaceful valley. This time he didn't get up as quickly as before. He heard footsteps on the ground and saw his friends rushing over to him. He apparently had landed close to where they were watching the fight.

"It seems as if things are looking bleak again my friend." Miroku said offering his hand to Lennex. He took the hand and was helped back up to his feet. He looked at the monk and responded.

"Looks that way, but let's see if we can put things back to us winning this thing. I want all of you guys to back off a little bit. There's another wind storm that's going to hit this valley in a few moments." He shook his head to clear the lingering effects of the blow he took. He jumped back into the air and faced off once again. Kalin let his power make him cocky though because he made no move to stop Lennex. Of course Lennex wasn't attacking just yet.

"You want real power Kalin? Let me show you how it's done." The yell started low in Lennex's throat but increased as the white aura of power flickered around him. The aura flared and a hint of color started to appear. Lennex continued his shout as he felt his power reach out and caress the invisible barrier that would take him to the next level. He felt the hindrance of that unexplained blockage try to stop him once again, but Lennex ignored it. His power was his to control again and he wasn't going to give it up this soon after just getting it back. He pushed past the familiar barrier and watched as his aura expanded around him.

Inuyasha and his friends retreated back several yards and watched and felt this new show of power from their friend. He was right about the wind as it doubled in force now that Lennex was adding to it. They watched the white aura flash golden a few times, slowly going back to white until Lennex increased the decibel of his yell and it flashed gold and stayed that way. His already spiky black hair seemed to stand up straighter and it too made a transition to a golden color. He ceased his cry as the transformation was finished and looked back over his shoulder at his friends. He winked at them again in a boyish manner, and Inuyasha could see that his eyes were now an icy turquoise color, instead of the ebony they had been.

Lennex registered the surprise on his friends' faces and looked back at Kalin. The field was almost even now. The thing that worried Lennex was the fact that even though he was a Super Sayjin, from what he could feel, Kalin still had an edge on the power side of things. He hoped his experience at fighting at this high a level would help him out, but from what he had observed so far, Kalin was a very quick study.

"Well, no time like the present," He mumbled before cocking his head to the side, "or the past as it were." he amended. He shook his slowly finding it a little funny that he would be focusing on something that trivial at this point. He flew forward and engaged Kalin once more.

When they met their auras seemed to clash with each other almost as if they were having their own battle, while the two men they surrounded did their best to crush each other with their strikes. Lennex threw two punches to Kalin's midsection but both attempts were blocked by Kalin's forearms. The broke apart and flew at each other again, this time Kalin kicked out, sweeping his leg at Lennex's head. Lennex threw an arm up to block the blow. Kalin's leg stopped from hitting its mark, but the blow made Lennex's arm tingle. There was a definite power disadvantage. He was glad that this jewel was no longer around in his time. If a number of shards of the blasted thing could make a normal human in the past stronger then a Super Sayjin, what would it have done for someone like Frieza or Cell? He'd heard they were handfuls with their own power, but imagining the jewel adding extra strength made him shudder. He quickly lashed out and tried to put some space between them to regroup. Kalin however stayed with him.

If Inuyasha had not been able to hear them, and the reassurances that Shippo could still feel their power, Sango would have sworn that the two men fighting in the air had disappeared. It seemed as if what had looked like teleportation to her before was just plain speed. She had once seen Sesshomaru move so quick that the seemed to disappear for a moment, but these two were breaking that speed barrier at a constant rate. Suddenly a flash appeared in her peripheral vision and she looked to her right. The two had reappeared and she could see they were grappling for control against each other.

Lennex pulled Kalin forward and paid him back by ramming his knee up into Kalin's stomach. He let go of Kalin to bring his hands up and hammered them together on either side of Kalin's head. The man winced in pain and fell back. Lennex lifted his hand and fired a blast of energy at Kalin, connecting with the man. The blast sent him flying back but only for a moment. Then Kalin was back in control and coming back for a counter attack.

The met again seeming to disappear to the onlookers but they were quite aware of each other. Kalin was getting used to his new power and it showed as more and more of Lennex's blows stopped connecting and he was going almost on the defensive.

"Time for a trick." Lennex muttered and put his hands together like he was holding a bar horizontally. "Energy Whip." he cried and pulled his hands apart. The once empty hands were filled with energy as Lennex focused his Ki into a tightly woven coil. He released it with one hand now that it was formed and struck. He flicked his wrist and the end of the now 8 foot long Ki whip flicked forward. The lash burned through Kalin's vest and the skin under it bubbled a bit. Kalin flinched back away from the weapon. Lennex pressed forward, cracking his weapon over and over again against Kalin. Welts started to appear on his arms as he tried to block the blows. Unlike a normal Ki attack this one was extremely focused and usually broke a slandered defense. He got the idea when Piccolo had first shown him his main attack.

Kalin charged a blast and fired trying to make Lennex and his whip back off, but Lennex used the energy weapon to knock the ball away. Lennex charged forward, lashing out again. Kalin put and arm up and the whip coiled around it. Before Lennex could pull back, Kalin reached up with his free hand and grabbed onto it. The two started tugging against each other.

Lennex was amazed at what he was seeing. He could see the whip's devastating effects on Kalin's skin yet the man was still fighting as if nothing was wrong. And as each moment passed he saw him adapt to the energy, until he was holding it just as Lennex was. Lennex released the whip and it disappeared.

"Not a bad technique, but easily overcome." Kalin said charging forward. The fist that connected with Lennex's face flashed an almost reddish black color. Kalin was charging Ki into his fists, making his attacks that much more brutal. Lennex was glad to find that his head was still attached to his neck. He was sure that blow should have detached it. He stopped his uncontrolled flight through the air, only to be hit from the opposite direction. For a moment he felt as if he was in a giant ping pong match, and he was the ball. He was being knocked around so much that he lost his orientation to the ground. He found it a moment later as he crashed into it. Once again he found himself face first into the ground and tried to push himself back up.

He was almost to his hands and knees when a weight crushed down into him. He couldn't help but scream out this time. The weight was gone and he was rolled over and picked up by the front of his shirt. He was brought face to face with Kalin, who was grinning ear to ear.

"You thought you could beat me didn't you. You're like all the rest and thought you were better then me. Like all the rest, you were wrong." He heard his friends shout as the came to his assistance. He knew there wasn't anything they would be able to do. If Kalin gave him a moment to recover from his dazed state, he could figure something out. He heard Inuyasha fire off a Windscar and Kalin calmly blocked the energy attack. With one arm while still holding Lennex. Inuyasha fired again and again, each time Kalin blocked the attack with ease. Lennex grabbed onto the arm that was holding him and tried to break loose. He was still a little groggy and the pain from his back wasn't making it easy to concentrate. He appreciated Inuyasha's distraction though, even though it wasn't doing any good.

Suddenly the grip on his shit was released as Kalin jumped backwards, a blazing pink arrow flying through where he had been. Lennex's eyes scrunched up in confusion. Why would he be worried about an arrow, when an energy attack did nothing to hurt him?

His friends were suddenly there with him again. He voiced his question to them while Kalin was still regrouping.

"Probably because Kagome's purification powers would break the Jewel's hold over him." Miroku theorized.

Lennex nodded his head, the theory making sense in his mind as well as the others. "So if she hits him, this fight could be over with?"

"She'd have to hit him first." Inuyasha barked out, earning a glare from Kagome. The half demon quickly followed up. "Its not that she can't hit him, but he always seems to avoid the arrow. He always knows its coming. Probably the bastard up on the hill telling him using the link the jewel shards have created between them. Lennex smiled again and idea forming in his head. The idea was cut short by Kalin.

He floated above them his arms curled to one side, palms facing each other. "The time for talking is over. Its time to kill you all. I was saving this attack until I had fully perfected it, but it looks like it will get a small test run."

Energy started to form between his cupped hands. Lennex's eyes went wide when he heard Kalin start to call out his attack.

"Ka me," the ball of energy started to grow bigger at an alarming rate. "Ha me," The last syllable Kalin held as he poured more power into the attack.

Lennex quickly turned to his friends. "Take cover; get out of here as fast as you can." His friends got the message and started running away from what was soon to be ground zero. Lennex turned back to face an unfamiliar enemy who was using a very familiar attack. He held his arms stretched out on either side of his body, channeling his own energy as fast as he could. Quickly brining his hands forward, pointing at Kalin. The heels of his hands almost touching as his fingers curled, pointing outward. A golden ball formed just in front of his outstretched hands as he concentrated on his energy. He had to be quick in forming this attack, but also form it correctly if he wanted to make it out of this alive.

"HA!" Kalin finished as the blazing blue orb of energy was thrust forward by his hands. The ball seemed to leap outwards, but instead of being just a ball, a stream of bluish energy followed it. Keeping the attack connected with Kalin. Inuyasha and company turned to look over their shoulders and were amazed by the size of the blast. As it left Kalin's hand the head of the blast seemed to increase to the size two village huts stacked on top of each other and two wide. And it was heading straight for Lennex.

Lennex watched the blast as he channeled more energy into his favorite master's attack. It was one of the first he had learned, and in a pinch it always came out ahead. He hoped that would remain true. It was time to find out.

"Final Flash!" Lennex shouted.

The golden orb exploded from his hands much as Kalin's attack had. And like his attack it increased in size and was continuously fed energy by Lennex.

Inuyasha's group from the valley floor and Naraku's from the cliff observed the Kamehameha wave collide with the Final Flash. The two beams fought against each other, making a large sphere of rolling energy where the two connected. Both fighters continued to feed more energy into these monstrous attacks fighting for dominance. The sphere in the middle seemed to push towards Kalin a few feet along the now connected beam of energy and then creep back in the other direction as each fighter tried their best to over power the other.

Lennex strained against the opposing energy beam, channeling more and more power through his hands. He knew both of these attacks well and almost every time the Final Flash packed more power then the Kamehameha. The other side was that while not as powerful it was easily more readied for attack and packed more then enough punch. Lennex had to hope that he was given enough time to make the Flash strong enough.

Kalin found himself reevaluating his opinion of this fighter. He was clearly more skilled in the ways of higher combat. He had thought a massive energy attack to be unheard off, but he had counteracted this special attack with one of his own. And even though he knew to be stronger, he was slowly loosing this battle. The orb of joined energy moved ever closer to him as Lennex slowly started wining the silent battle.

"Time to cut my losses." Kalin said to no one and quickly canceled his attack and flew to one side, evading the now rapidly coming attack.

Lennex felt the resistance give way and saw Kalin evade the attack. He quickly cut of the attack and watched what was left of the beam fly harmlessly into the atmosphere. He turned back to Kalin and was startled that he couldn't find him. He reached out with his senses and felt the jewel enhanced fighter standing right behind him. He threw his elbow back and connected. He turned to find Kalin turning his head forward after having it knocked to the side. Other then the movement, the attack looked like it did nothing else.

"Here we go again." Lennex said throwing out a few more punches and kicks. The hurriedly put together Final Flash had taken a lot of energy and Lennex was starting to feel the effects of fighting a stronger opponent. He could also feel that annoyance of whatever it was that was trying to overcome his powers again fight for superiority. He had to clamp down on that feeling to keep his power up, but it was all the distraction Kalin needed to break through.

He felt his feet leave the ground as he was shot upwards into the air. A blur of movement above him precluded Kalin's arrival as he moved into position to attack again, this time sending Lennex once again towards his friends.

"Let's try for a different approach." Lennex said as he crashed into the ground, his body creating a trench in the ground as his momentum kept him moving after contact He used his own power change his course just a little so he would stop near Inuyasha and the rest. Kalin didn't pursue right away which Lennex counted as a blessing. His friends came toward him but he looked up at them and told them to stop. He then made a show of trying to get up and falling face first to the ground, hiding his mouth.

"If you can hear me Inuyasha, sit boy." Lennex said quietly

"That's not even funny!" Inuyasha bit out, the rest of the group looking at him as they were unable to hear Lennex's muffled question.

"Good, now listen up, here is the new plan." Lennex continued on laying out his plan so only Inuyasha could hear. The half demon's eyes widening at what he was hearing and then his head nodded in agreement, edging closer to Kagome to whisper in her ear. Lennex finally picked himself up and turned back to Kalin. He jumped back into the air and at full speed flew towards Kalin, preparing to ram him. Lennex speared the fighter but Kalin quickly slowed their flight and hammered on Lennex's back with a fist. Lennex grunted in pain but continued to struggle against Kalin, keeping one eye on the group below.

"Pull an arrow and get it ready but don't aim it yet," Inuyasha said quietly in Kagome's ear, "don't ask dumb questions either just trust me this one time. Don't act surprised by anything that happens just be ready to aim and fire when I say so. No hesitation." he finished. Kagome turned her head to look at the half demon and spent a moment lost in the golden pools he called eyes. She nodded her head after a moment in agreement and did as she was told, placing the arrow on the bow but only holding the items with one hand, letting the string hold the weight of the arrow.

Inuyasha moved even closer to Kagome, causing the girl to turn a little red in the face at his close proximity. It also brought a few stares from those around them.

"Act natural or else." He bit out without looking at them. They turned away slowly and did as they were told. Inuyasha looked up at Lennex and nodded his head once. This plan was as ready as it was going to be.

Lennex saw the signal and broke free as fast as he could. His back hurt like hell after the pounding he had received but he tried to put it to the back of his mind. This was going to take a little timing and a lot of luck. Kalin came forward attacking and Lennex met it, trading blows and keeping even with the man. He then put some space in between them and readied and energy orb. He threw it at Kalin, who sensed the power behind the blast was nothing to be worried about.

"That's right, get cocky!" Lennex shouted as he squeezed his fist tight, a physical representation of the mental effect Lennex was using on the Ki, causing the energy orb to explode before connecting. Kalin shielded his eyes at the bright light and quickly looked for his opponent. He gazed at the ground at the group there and saw them all looking. He scanned the surrounding sky and didn't see him. Lennex had disappeared from view. He saw Naraku and his followers also looking around also trying to find a trace of him.

"Inuyasha, now!" The cry came from above. Everyone in the valley turned towards the direction of the voice, everyone except Inuyasha who quickly brought the long dark sleeves of his fire rat robes and brought them around Kagome's face, pulling her towards his chest, doing his best to cover her face. She resisted a little and he quickly barked out "Remember to trust me." And she did. Everyone else however saw Lennex floating in front of the sun, his hands up by his face, backs facing out and fingers spread wide, almost fanning his face, in an old technique that his friends in the future taught him.

"Solar Flare!" he cried out. The sun behind him seemed to explode, the entire area bathed in a piercing white light. Everyone in the valley was immediately blinded by the white light. Everyone but Lennex, and Kagome.

"Now or never." Lennex said to himself as he flew down behind Kalin, wrapping his arms around his body, pinning Kalin's arms into place. Lennex quickly brought them closer to the ground and cried out "Do it Inuyasha!"

The half demon was still blinded by the light, even though he had not been looking at it, but the sound of Lennex's voice gave him the direction to point Kagome.

"Fire Kagome!" he shouted.

The girl from the future noticed that everyone was rubbing their eyes and stumbling around a little bit, but she acted on instinct when she saw Kalin being held by Lennex. She pulled back on the arrow and took aim and then she fired. The arrow erupted into a brilliant pink nimbus as it sailed for the fighter. Kalin didn't see it coming, and continued to just struggle against Lennex instead of changing course. And with Naraku also blinded up on the cliff, there was no warning.

When the arrow hit Lennex quickly let go as a zapping feeling, like being electrocuted, hit him. It made his arms a little tingly, but nothing like what it did to Kalin. The arrow imbedded itself just under the left shoulder, and the purification energy seemed to wrap around Kalin. He screamed and clutched the arrow in pain. He fell from the sky quickly and just before he hit the ground, his chest seemed to explode outwards, numerous jewel shards flying from his body. Lennex watched him hit the ground and winced. The power Kalin had been displaying was non existent. Gone, now that the shards were free from his body. The Goku side of his brain kicked in as he watched Kalin clutch at the wound, his face a mask of pain, and he dropped down beside him.

"This will teach you not to accept help from strangers now won't it." He said picking Kalin up and flying over towards Kagome and the rest. He saw that they were just blinking the final spots out of their eyes and saw the person he was carrying.

"Did we do it?" Kagome asked looking at the injured man. Lennex nodded and set him on the ground.

"I think we did, but I'd be much obliged if you treated his wounds. After all we don't really know if this was all his choice or the bastards on the hill."

Kagome nodded and proceeded to retrieve her first aid kit from the long forgotten yellow backpack she always carried, and had left on the ground when the fight had first started. The entire ordeal had lasted for only forty five minutes tops, but it seemed like an eternity passed. Miroku and Inuyasha congratulated Lennex on a brilliant idea, and Sango piped in from Kirara's back that next time try to warn them all, being blind was not fun.

They heard a buzzing sound from behind them, and they turned to see a dozen Saimyoushou flying around Kalin's last landing site. The demon wasps were busy picking up the fallen jewel shards. A few started flying back towards Naraku while the rest continued to gather.

"Dammit!" Inuyasha shouted as he raced towards the spot sending out a Windscar. The attack incinerated some of the insects while Lennex fired small Ki blasts, killing the rest. Lennex walked over towards the spot with Miroku in tow, Sango staying on Kirara next to Kagome. The looked at the shards, not wanting to touch them until Kagome purified them.

"Looks like we got back at least the number we found on our travel hear." Miroku commented, counting several shards on the ground. They looked up at the cliff to see Naraku's hand outstretched to catch the shards the surviving Saimyoushou were delivering. After the last shard was dropped, Naraku looked down at them.

"Another time Inuyasha, and I will destroy you myself." he called down. Turning around to take his leave.

Lennex frowned at this. No way did this guy think he was getting away after all this. Lennex was suddenly gone from his place beside Miroku and Inuyasha and now standing on the cliff face. Naraku turned to regard the new threat, a surprised look in his eyes. Hakadoshi was the first to react, summoning the demon spear that was once part of Naraku's body into his hands and tried to skewer Lennex with it. Lennex picked up a foot and brought it down on the flat of the blade. The spear hit the ground and the same foot that put it there kicked upwards and caught the small white haired offspring under the chin.

Hakadoshi fell to the ground stunned, letting go of the spear. Kagura stepped up next, her fan spread out in her hands. Lennex didn't even look at her and sent a Ki blast into the ground in front of her. The combination of shockwave and dirt that sprayed up into her face sent her sailing to the ground like Hakadoshi. Kanna and Kohaku remained stationary as Naraku turned to face Lennex fully, one of his hands growing into a sharp bone trident and thrusting forward to pierce the Sayjin in the chest.

Lennex smiled as the three blades of the trident shattered when it hit his body. The bone continued to try and force its way into Lennex's body but his body was so juiced up with power that his energy wouldn't let it pass. Lennex reached forward towards the stunned man and gripped one of the bone armor plates across his chest and lifted Naraku bodily from the ground. The two locked eyes and Lennex spoke.

"Normally I don't interfere in a fight that isn't mine. But after seeing what you have put my new friends through, I'm making an exception."

"What makes you think you can destroy me where my enemies have failed?"

Naraku responded back unfazed. Lennex glanced down at the short white haired boy that was just getting to his knees and kicked the boy again sending him sprawling.

"Who is going to stop me?" Lennex responded with a grin.

Naraku grinned back and replied. "Me."

Lennex actually threw his head back for a good laugh and raised his other hand, a Ki ball forming in it, holding it for Naraku to see, the implications plain as day, that this would be what killed Naraku.

"And just how do you figure you can beat me when neither your attacks nor those of your helpers here could?"

"Because like everything else, you breathe." Was the reply. Lennex eyes narrowed at the statement, but quickly widened in shock as a gaseous substance exploded out of Naraku's body. It happened so fast that he had no idea what was going on, but as Naraku said, he did breathe, and when his lungs took in the foul substance he felt his power leave, not like before when he fell through the well, but his entire body felt sick.

Lennex dropped Naraku and started gagging because he couldn't get a clean breath of air. His hair dropped from the golden color of a Super Sayjin and returned to its normal jet black color. His aura faded completely. Suddenly he was free of the gas and he felt a new pain in his shoulder. He instinctively grabbed onto the protrusion sticking out of his body and looked up into Naraku's face.

Naraku chuckled as he speared the Sayjin through the shoulder and held him out over the cliff face and spoke. "My miasma has that affect on all living things."

Lennex gritted his teeth trying to summon his power back. He watched Naraku's other hand elongate to a point. The blow never came as both men became aware of a whirling noise.

The Hiraikotsu came flying upwards between them severing the boney spear that was Naraku's arm, causing Lennex to fall. He was caught a few feet down by Sango and Miroku, who were riding Kirara. They quickly landed by the rest of the group and Inuyasha stood in the front of them once more, brandishing the Tetsusaiga.

"Your fight is with us bastard!" he called out.

Naraku looked down at the assembled group of heroes, Kagura and Hakadoshi finally regaining their position on either side of him. Inuyasha and his friends did look battered and beaten It wouldn't take much to finish them off. Perhaps it was finally time to end their lives once and for all. He voiced his thought to those that stood beside him.

Hakadoshi agreed, as did Kagura until something caught the wind sorceress eye. Appearing every so often from the tops of the trees were the flying snake like demons called Soul Stealers. They were hovering over something that was slowly getting closer to the valley. She knew what that meant.

"Kikyo is coming." She said pointing towards the Soul Stealers. Naraku's eyes narrowed at the news. Hakadoshi spoke up suddenly.

"Company coming from the east." Naraku turned and saw a tornado spinning their way rapidly.

"Koga." He said, muttering the name like it tasted foul

And then Kana was calling his attention, showing him her mirror. On its surface was the energy form of Sesshomaru, flying somewhere as fast as he could. Naraku had no doubt that if Kanna was showing him, that destination was here. Inuyasha was one thing, but adding the other three into the fight complicated things. He had not set the stage for this encounter. He had not planned the involvement of the three wildcards now coming into play. So he would walk away from this engagement and start planning anew. They would die eventually. He would grant them a few more days of life.

"We are leaving." he told his companions and formed a barrier around them all, disappearing from view.

Inuyasha snorted at the coward's retreat, wondering what changed his mind all of a sudden. He looked as if he was going to take Inuyasha up on his offer. Then the wind changed and he smelled a few things. One scent made his heart skip a little, but he could tell that scent was getting fainter now that all traces of Naraku had disappeared. The other two scents however, were extremely unwelcome. He was sure that no Naraku and his half brother would leave. The wimpy wolf however. Once he saw Kagome, there'd be Hell in getting rid of him.

"Just what I need." He muttered as he turned around to his friends, waiting for the company to show up.


	14. The Long Road Home

Chapter 14: The Long Road Home

Lennex was aware of a few things after he had been rescued from death by his friends. He felt them land on the ground and then he felt himself eased onto said ground as gently as could be. He felt horrible still from the effects of the miasma and after a few more moments of blurry consciousness, his body finally shut down and Lennex fell into unconsciousness.

The next time he awoke, he was feeling much much better. The sky was just turning pink, signaling that the sun was setting after a long days travel through the sky. He heard the sounds of forest and noticed that there were trees all around.

"How are you feeling?" a voice asked from behind. He slowly sat up and turned to face Kagome. She was kneeling on the ground behind another man who was injured, busily wrapping a bandage around his chest. Lennex noticed to dark blotches on the gauze, one from the shards that used to be imbedded in his skin, the other from an arrow wound. Lennex observed Kalin's face, and took note that the cruelness was gone from it. What was left was pain and despair. Lennex was pretty sure it wasn't from the injuries either. He glanced down at his own body and saw his shoulder was wrapped, covering the wound made by Naraku's hand.

He was definitely not classifying demons as weaker anymore. They may not have the same powers he possessed, but they were definitely not weak. Not when one of them was so easily able to take him down when he was a Super Sayjin. He tried rolling his shoulder and winced a bit at the pain. He noticed that his body had stopped feeling as sick as it did on the cliff. He quickly took a quick assessment of his powers. The wall was back in place trying to hinder his use of his energy, but with a little concentration Lennex was able to break it down again. Just to make sure he raised his good hand and fired a lower powered blast into the ground. Those around the campsite jumped a little at the small explosion.

He took note of Inuyasha, whose back was up against a tree, his sword sheathed and propped against his shoulder. He looked a little battle scared but his demon body was healing much faster then the humans around him. Sango and Miroku sat beside each other around the small fire that was cooking what looked to be the night's dinner. Each was bandaged in different places but all in all they looked all right. Most notable was the burns on Miroku's hand and the wrap around Sango's calf. Shippo he noted was standing by the fire, eyes closed, in another training trance. He smiled when he noticed that every so often, Inuyasha would stare at the fox for a little bit out of the corner of his eyes.

He turned back to Kagome and her patient. Kalin's face had registered shock at Lennex's power display but quickly fell to misery again and let his head hang. Kagome gave him a look of pity as she finished off wrapping the fresh bandage and shook her head. She stood up and walked over to check Lennex's bandage.

"What happed while I was out?" he asked her.

As she started to unwrap his bandage preparing to put a fresh set on, she told him how they had received company in the forms of Sesshomaru and Koga in the small valley. Sesshomaru had taken one look at the valley and turned away, slowly waking back in the direction he had come from Since Naraku was no longer around, and he had no reason to be there. Even the insults that Inuyasha had thrown at him didn't make him stay to teach his half brother a lesson. Then the wolf showed up and Inuyasha and Koga went through their normal routine. Koga immediately started fawning over Kagome, claiming her yet again as his woman, and Inuyasha kept renouncing the claim.

"I swear the two of them act like little boys." she said as she started to roll the gauze over his shoulder. Lennex chuckled and wished he was awake when it happened. He asked Kagome what had happened to him while he was out.

"I wrapped your wound and then purified you of the miasma. Naraku's little poison gas is lethal, but I'm getting pretty good at getting rid of it. We then decided to get back under the cover of the forest before treating the others wounds and set up camp here."

Lennex nodded and then looked at Kalin. "And what's your story?" he asked, startling the other fighter.

"What does it matter," Kalin replied softly, no longer sounding like the man he had been under the jewel shards influence. "I've committed crimes against innocents. Killed hundreds of them with a power I thought would benefit mankind. Instead I destroyed what I was once trying to protect."

Lennex heard the words and new this man would probably live like this the rest of his life, and the way he was feeling, his life may not be that long. It was fact that back in these days, suicide was considered an honorable way out of facing a bad situation. Lennex wanted to prevent that.

"The power is neither good nor bad. It's the intentions behind the power that matters. Most of what you did was not really you, but the thing that Naraku had turned you into. That doesn't wash the blood from your hands, but it's not as bad as you may think. Your one real crime was taking a crutch to increase your power. You're on the road to becoming a very powerful warrior. This time make sure the power is your own. Your still alive, make up for your past deeds and do something good with your life."

The little speech brought a little light back into Kalin's eyes as he pondered the words. Miroku came over to the injured fighter and sat down to talk about the teachings of Buddha on forgiveness and retribution. For once the monk was being a monk, and not the lecher he was famed for. Kagome smiled at Lennex as she finished the bandaged and stood up, offering her hand to help him up. He gladly took it and together walked over towards the fire to leave the two men alone for a bit, the smell of the cooking food beckoning them.

0-0-0-0-0

It was some time later, as the sun had long since set that Kalin and Miroku joined them again. Kalin looked a little more like a normal person, but Lennex could see the ghosts behind his eyes. He had a lot to do before he forgave himself it looked.

"So what did you decide to do?" Lennex questioned.

Kalin looked up at the group and spoke.

"I have a lot to make up for, but thanks to the guidance of this monk, and of your words," Kalin said motioning to Lennex. "I am going to get back to my training. I plan on making myself even more of a hermit then I was before. I know of a little chain of islands that would be perfect for solitude. I am going to become a strong warrior like you on my own. Someday, maybe we can have a rematch against each other."

Lennex nodded his head in agreement, not having it in his heart to tell the man that he probably wouldn't be in this time for much longer. He hoped anyways. It had been almost a week since falling through and starting on this little journey and he wasn't sure if Bulma had figured anything out yet or not.

"I don't plan to take anyone that hasn't passed a few tests as my apprentices either," Kalin continued, breaking Lennex from his thoughts. "I plan to make these tests some of the most foolish tests I can think of. If they are serious about training, they will do whatever it takes, and that will show me they are honest about their desire to learn." Kalin nodded to himself, agreeing more and more with the decision he was making.

Lennex thought it sounded like a good plan, but there were a few questions he wanted to ask, however, Miroku beat him to the punch with a question of his own.

"And how will we know you have succeeded in your goals, Master Kalin." the monk asked.

Kalin looked a little startled at the master comment but frowned once more at the question. He looked up after a moment of contemplation and responded to the question.

"When you hear of the Kame Senin style of martial arts, you will know I have succeeded."

Lennex, who had just taken a bite out of a piece of jerky he had stored in one of his capsules, started to choke, for when he had heard the words he inhaled sharply causing the piece of dried meat to get stuck in his throat. After a little back pounding Lennex was able to clear his passage way and looked at Kalin wide eyed. He forced himself to look away from the man, not wanting him to wonder why the words had troubled him so much. For troubled him they had.

It made perfect sense now. Why the techniques he had learned from Goku had never seemed to work against Kalin. Why Kalin was able to summon the Kamehameha wave that Goku and any of the other's who trained under Master Roshi were able to use. The style these moves belonged to was in fact the Kame Senin style. And Lennex was sitting across from the man who would create and master the style. who would teach an apprentice, who would teach Master Roshi's master, who would then in turn go down the line till the secrets of this fighting style wound up in Goku's hands.

If he had killed Kalin, his timeline would have changed drastically. He was suddenly very homesick for his time. He didn't want to chance anything like this again.

The rest continued talking, not noticing the discomfort of their new friend, and after a while they started to turn in. Tomorrow would be the start of their journey home.

0-0-0-0

They awoke the next morning early and Kagome went to start checking the bandages of the wounded. Lennex stopped her as he pulled something from his belt. It was a small green bean which he place on a rock. With a tightly focused Ki beam, he split the bean into four pieces, giving three of them away to Sango, Miroku, and Kalin. He explained that this was the bean he went after, and that even though it was only a quarter piece, since the injuries they each possessed wasn't so bad, it should heal them up completely.

Each of them downed their piece and looked surprised to find themselves feeling much better then before. Sango was able to walk with her full weight on her leg now, and Miroku found his hand was free from the burns. Lennex and Kalin's injuries were almost fully healed, but the flesh was still very tender. Kalin thanked these people again and started out to complete his destiny. Lennex shook his head again at the irony of it all.

"Come on, let's get back to the village, and see what's been happening since we have been gone." Inuyasha commanded. Sango and Miroku mounted the transformed Kirara, and Kagome jumped on Inuyasha's back. Shippo jumping up on her shoulder as was customary. They looked at Lennex and he smiled, slowly floating up into the air a few feet. Inuyasha took off at a fast pace and Kirara moved to follow him from the air. Lennex took off after them pulling even with Kirara and waving at the fire cat's passengers who looked at little wide eyed. They were still not used to their friend flying.

They traveled for a short distance until they came to the village on the other side of the forest. The villagers were happy to hear that the threat Kalin had presented to them was no longer there. They left the village quickly after they arrived and continued on home. The journey should only take them a day or two at the most now that they didn't have to hunt for the shards. During the first day after passing some other settlements of humans, they learned of some demon attacks in the area. Not one to let people suffer, Kagome had convinced Inuyasha to help out.

Lennex had to laugh because the convincing was done mostly with a few sit commands, and Inuyasha finally found it in his heart to help. Lennex helped out where he could, but preferred to watch his friends at work in their own element. He could tell this was no where near their first fight together as they played on each others strengths during the fight with this unnamed demon. He was pleased to see Shippo finding a niche in their fight, no longer the side line player anymore. Lennex grinned as he dove in to attack an opening the demon had presented.

0-0-0-0

On their journey home, they had been waylaid by a few more demon encounters. Apparently the shards Kagome had around her neck proved to be a beacon for trouble. Lennex, as anxious as he was to get back and find out what was going on, didn't so much mind being able to get to know these people better. The trip back took them a full extra day more then it should, and they were just cresting the last hill before the village Inuyasha and the rest considered home as the sun started dipping down towards the horizon. The village was a welcome site, but everyone could tell that there were more people in the village then there should be. As they entered the village, they were people all around cheering them as the came closer. They finally saw Kaede who stood next to the daughter and her father, the village elder, that they had saved just before fighting Kalin.

"Welcome home my friends" Kaede said as they stopped in front of her. "These people brought news to everyone about your deeds. The people of the lost villages that survived, and those that were saved by your actions decided to come here to celebrate your victory."

Inuyasha looked a little baffled. Usually people didn't want to celebrate anything with him, but his friends smiled at the prospect of a little down time. He noticed the village had been decorated for the event, paper lanterns strung out between the huts and the village square had an abundance of people severing food and drink. There was dancing going on, the music provided by a few villagers that had instruments to play.

Lennex threw his arm around Inuyasha's shoulders and grinned ear to ear. "Let's have us a party!" he crowed.

0-0-0-0

It was dark once again and Lennex found himself on the sidelines of the village square. The impromptu party had been underway for some time now, and didn't show any signs of slowing. The group of adventures had been seated at a table set especially for them and they ate and drank their fill, people coming up to them and thanking them for their kindness and courage in stopping the man who had destroyed so much. Those from the devastated villages thanked them for their deeds of burying their dead. Others were from the villages that Inuyasha's group had helped repair after Kalin had been there. The little band, as Lennex had started to refer to them was playing some pretty upbeat tunes and his friends decided dancing was in order.

It was now that Lennex was watching his friends from the side. Inuyasha and Kagome looked a bit awkward with the dance. They both appeared to know the steps, but the proximity towards each other was making them clumsy and missing a few steps. The smiles on their faces however showed they were enjoying the fun regardless. Miroku and Sango however looked as if they had been dancing together for years. Their steps were flawless and fluid as they twirled through the steps, gazing into each others eyes. Lennex shook his head as Sango's smile tightened a little bit and a loud crack was heard. When people looked, their hands were still joined, but the monk sported a new handprint on his cheek, his other hand once again resting on Sango's waist, instead of lower where it had been. By Lennex's count that was about the sixth attempt in the last couple of hours.

He noticed Shippo entertaining the younger girls with his tricks, which now sported a bit more flare since he was using his fox fire in more controlled ways. Kirara, in her kitten form stayed close to the young demon, almost like a watchful mother.

He was extremely happy that his friends were enjoying themselves, instead of risking their lives for once. He took a slow drink from the tankard that he had picked up before retreating to sit and watch the fun. It wasn't Sake, but it definitely packed a punch. It was apparently a local brew that the villagers loved. He had to admit it was pretty good. He caught the eyes of two pretty village girls as they started to approach him and he shook his head at their advance. This wasn't the first time he had to shoot down a few romantic gestures tonight.

"Ye seem to be quite popular tonight with the village women." the wizened voice of Kaede said as she approached him from behind. He glanced at her and took another drink, waiting for the obvious question. He didn't wait long.

"I wonder why you're not out there with any of the ladies that have asked you."

Lennex downed the rest of the brew before replying. "Right now those girls have visions of things I cant give them running through their heads, whether those dreams are of long term or just through the end of tonight. I have someone at home, that quite frankly; I'm starting to miss a lot."

Kaede nodded after hearing the words. Love, it seemed, was always present with the young. She looked over Lennex's head and then back down at him. "Well it looks as if you have another admirer, I will leave you be." She said as she slowly walked away, Lennex sighed as he heard the footsteps stop just behind him. He looked at the bottom of the empty tankard and wished it was full again. Ah well, alcohol never solved anything.

"Look, the answer is no, I have someone back in my homeland waiting for me, and I can't betray her trust like that, even with a simple dance or anything like that, I'm sorry." He said without looking back. The voice that replied back to him caused him to drop the empty cup.

"Well I'm certainly glad that I can trust you even when you're in another time. Its always reassuring to know your man is faithful." Bra replied.

Lennex whipped around to see Bra standing behind him, in a very fancy kimono. She was likely to be mistaken for royalty dressed up like that, but he didn't care at that moment. He went to her and threw his arms around her, kissing her soundly. When it was time to breathe again he pulled away smiling at her.

"How did you get here?" he asked. She giggled leaning into him again, resting her head on his shoulder, enjoying the close contact.

"My mother is a genius remember?" she responded as if that explained everything. He laughed at that, and asked for a more of a detailed explanation.

"Fine fine, if you want to hear about that boring stuff instead of talking to me," she said winking and stepping back, pulling her kimono open a little bit, revealing a white belt wrapping around her lean stomach. There were a few lights and controls on the front. "We determined that the XO-12257 material, while able to generate a lot of power, if exposed to a large surge generates a time field. While harmless on its own, if you come in contact with something that can move through time, viola, time travel. Mom thinks this stuff is what her future counterpart used to fuel my future brother's time machine. It created the field to enter the time stream, then the machine did the actually travel. You however just used an already stable wormhole in time. Also," she said pulling a small hypo device. "We found that the material can have certain effects on Ki energy. Papa was not happy about testing that theory out."

Lennex felt her press the hypo up to his arm and felt the device inject something into him. Almost immediately all sense of the invisible wall was gone, his powers were now truly his own again. He looked down at Bra and motioned to her midriff.

"And the belt?" he asked.

It takes the XO and applies a charge to it creating the field. Then I just jumped down the well and I was in a forest. I went back and mom started making a few more of the belts. One for you of course, and some for your friends, the ones that aren't able to pass through."

Lennex grinned pulling Bra in for another kiss before waving his friends over. He was sure they would be happy by the news that the three non time travelers would be able to accompany Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Wait till you meet my new friends." Lennex said with a smile. Lennex introduced her to each of his new friends and her bubbly personality made her an instant hit with each of them. Especially Miroku. The monk after shaking hands inched closer to her and whispered in her ear his now infamous line. Lennex shook his head as Bra just laughed in the monks face. Sango however had a different reaction. She grabbed the Monk by the scruff of his robes and hauled him off to have a talk.

Bra turned to the rest. "Is he always that forward?"

"You have no idea." Inuyasha replied followed by Shippo's declaration that Miroku was in fact an idiot. Bra linked her arm around Lennex's and looked at Kagome

"There's a party going on, how about we join it!" she said pulling Lennex towards the dancing villagers. Kagome grinned and grabbed a reluctant half demon and followed them.

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The party lasted until the early hours of the morning and after a lengthy discussion, Miroku and Sango had rejoined the rest. They had danced until they couldn't stand anymore and finally went back to Kaede's to sleep. The next morning found the group trekking towards the well. The time had come for Lennex to go home. They arrived at the well and Bra gave Kagome the three belts made for Miroku, Sango, and Shippo. Since Kirara was so small, all Sango had to do was hold onto her to let her pass. She showed her how to turn them on and off and the other little items on the control panel and then handed Lennex his belt. Lennex strapped it on as he spoke to his friends.

"I will have Bulma put together a supply box for you guys, so you can have more medical aid and food supplies to take along on these journeys. I will see if she can't get some shelters for you also."

"That would be great, your ice box contraption held many wonderful foods." Miroku said, thinking about the monstrous sandwich he once made.

Lennex smiled and shook the Monks hand and then Sango's "Its good to see a women warrior this far in the past. Don't let these guys bully you around." he said winking at the Demon exterminator.

He looked at Kagome and Inuyasha and thanked them for finding him in the well and taking care of him the time he was here. He advised them he was very grateful that he had not have woken up by himself in the past. He then moved to Shippo.

"Keep up the training, my friend. I'll check up on your progress from time to time, I hope to find you have learned some new tricks." he said. The fox kit nodded and replied

"I will, Inuyasha said he was going to teach me a few things about my demon powers."

Inuyasha sputtered as color rose to his cheeks now that everyone was looking at him. "I said I might teach you a thing or to if you weren't such a pest. Nothing definite." he shouted. The group laughed knowing the words were just a front.

Lennex and Bra stepped up to the well and powered on the belts. A faint hum could be heard now that they were on. Bra kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear. "Say goodbye to your friends, but don't take to long. I want to welcome you home proper." and then she was gone disappearing in the well. The words sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine as he turned to his friends.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you all," he said looking at each of them again, "If there is anything you guys need, supplies or help, don't be afraid to ask. I know a few people that are always willing to help friends of friends' out." he finished grinning.

He waved and turned around, ready to jump into the well.

"Keh, well you remember that if 'you' need any help, were right here." Inuyasha replied, his arms across his chest. Eyes closed with a superior look on his face. Lennex chuckled at the proud demon and got ready to drop into the well.

"Good bye my friends, I'll miss you." he said and then stopped, Inuyasha's words triggering something in his mind. He slowly turned around to stare at the half demon.

"Actually, Inuyasha, I do have a favor to ask."


	15. Epilogue: The Chase Revisited

Epilogue: The Chase Revisited.

Eddie the Eel nursed the Vodka tonic in front of him. He was in a small dark bar surrounded by the middle class that frequented down town Tokyo. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be back in this city almost a week and a half later, but a job opportunity had presented itself, and he went were the money was.

The job was a simple tech theft. He'd been in and out with no problems and now he had half a million dollars in one of his many bank accounts. He took another drink, smiling as the liquid burned his way down his throat. He set the glass down and watched the little TV behind the bar. The woman behind the bar walked up to him and set down a shot glass filled with a dark colored substance.

"What is this?" he asked eyeing the shot.

The bartender shrugged and said. "It's called an Alabama Slammer. Guy at the end of the bar sends it and his regards." she turned to take and order from the guy next to Eddie as he stared at the shot. The irony of the name was not lost on him. He looked down the bar and saw a man that was raising an identical shot in toast towards him. Eddie's insides went cold. It was the Capsule Corp guy. The one he thought had gotten blown up by his charges. Eddie quickly stood, knocking the drinks on the bar over. He backpedaled away, bumping into people as he made a hasty exit out the bar's back doors.

Once outside he took off into a full sprint. He had no idea how he had been found, but he wasn't going to find out. He ran as fast as he could, changing directions on each block. He didn't stop for a full five minuets until he came to a stop in an alley way. He retreated into the shadows and watched the entrance, trying to calm his breathing. The alcohol he had consumed now gone due to the adrenaline.

A few minuets later the security officer walked past the alley way. He didn't even look like he was looking for anything; he calmly sipped on a drink he had picked up somewhere. Eddie held his breath until he disappeared. He held it again as the man reappeared.

"It's not too late to give yourself up." he called into the darkened alley. Eddie cursed him silently. He wasn't sure how this guy knew he was in here but he didn't look like he was going to leave. He watched as he put the straw up to his lips and drank again. When done he spoke once more.

"Don't say I never gave you a chance."

A low growl started behind Eddie and his blood ran cold. He quickly turned as a loud thump echoed on the dumpster behind him rang out. He tried running but was knocked off his feet, pinned to the wall by an arm. He tried struggling but the arm remained. He looked up into the golden eyes of a man. A man with white triangular ears, silvery hair, and large sharp canine teeth. The man brought his other hand up and instead of fingernails, this guy had claws. He leaned closer and spoke.

"I remember your smell. You were near the shrine. You're the one that endangered a girl there with your 'bomb'." The last word was said as though this person was unfamiliar with the term. The growl started up again as Eddie was slammed harder into the wall.

"I should kill you for that." the man that had a hold of him threatend. Eddie looked towards the alley entrance to see the security officer walking towards them, throwing the drink away.

"Now now, Inuyasha, We don't want to tear him to shreds in this little alleyway. We want him to rot away in jail." he said. The one called Inuyasha snarled at Eddie.

"No! I want him dead. He could have hurt her." the last was said in a whisper as the clawed hand smashed into the brick wall beside Eddies head. His face paled and his heart raced as he heard the brick crumble.

"But he will suffer more in jail, trust me." Lennex replied as he walked up even with Inuyasha and glared at Eddie. "And if he does anything else again like threaten people or steal things..." He left the threat hanging as an invisible wind swept up around him, his hair flashing gold for a few moments and a golden light seemed to surround him, "Then we can kill him, you found him once, you can find him again." Lennex finished, powering down. Eddie looked like he was about to have an accident. His eyes were bugged out and he was starting to babble. Inuyasha leaned in close again and growled louder before tossing the man into a pile of boxes and trash.

Eddie was so freighted that even when the two left and the police officers arrived ten minutes later, he had not moved an inch. The officers helped him up and listened to him babble about the 'golden and clawed men'. The officers threw each other a look as they smelled the trash and alcohol all over the man and put him into the back of the car. The look clearly said that the man was a loon.

They drove off with Eddie, taking the career criminal to justice, and two men watched from the rooftops.

"Thanks again for the assistance, Inuyasha."

The half demon snorted. "You were just lucky that his scent was still on the last crime scene. I had a hard time tracking it with all these different smells."

Lennex shook his head in agreement and looked out at the city. "This really is a different place in this time isn't it?" he asked. He didn't expect an answer as Inuyasha stared out towards the city with him.

"Keh, this place stinks, lets go back to the shrine, I do have shards to find." he said

Lennex smiled and asked. "You know the way back?"

The half demon nodded and Lennex said "Race you back."

Inuyasha grinned and jumped from rooftop to rooftop as fast as he could. Lennex laughed bringing his power equal to Inuyasha's; he could have flown, but wanted the contest to be legitimate. He quickly followed his friend across the rooftops of Tokyo, the moon and stars the only witness to their friendly game.

Fin.

_Well everyone that was my wild ride in the crossover universe. I hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to finally put the prequels to this story on paper and get them out there soon, but a sequel to this one has already begun to form so we will have to see. Thanks to all those that reviewed and to my friends who kept on me to finish this. _


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